Destiny Fate Eternity: Dark Secrets
by bloodnoir
Summary: Third installment to Destiny Fate Eternity dealing with the public outing of the vampire race and the effects of Bella's mistake, & govt enhancement program. M for adult content, but mostly due to violence and dark subject matters.
1. Chapter 1 Outed

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I wasn't quite ready to post this. I wanted to get it at least half way finished so that I could have a good idea where it was going and a title that actually had something to do with it this time(ex: Demetri's Desire which has very little to do with Demetri), but alas, I could wait no longer. So, please let me know what you think and what you'd like to see happen or cleared up from the last story. I imagine that the posts for this will be infrequent, like once a week as I have a tough course load at school this semester. Just thought you should be warned.**

**** I've been getting quite a few comments about who Bella should end up with, so I created a poll so I could gauge everyone's thoughts on the matter...especially you lovely silent readers out there. It's your chance to be heard. Just check out my profile and vote, please. ****

**Chapter 1 Outed**

My cell vibrated in my pocket and I fished it out with fumbling fingers, the shimmery vampire still fresh in my thoughts. "Hello," I croaked.

"Bella?" Edward's velvety voice shivered down me.

I couldn't suppress the shock in my voice. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to make sure you got back safely. And…"

I interrupted. Relief that he cared enough to call blanked out the mess playing out on live television momentarily. "I'm so glad you called." I was practically gushing. "I was afraid…"

"Afraid of what?"

"That I'd never hear your voice again," I murmured honestly.

"Bella, I told you it was temporary. Like I could stay away…" He said almost angrily.

He sounded so broken. I knew he hadn't called to make up, just to check on me because his protective nature would let him do no less. So, I gave him a way out. I changed the subject. "Have you been watching the TV?" That this had taken place in the states and we were already seeing it here in Italy just showed you how much news it was.

"No, why?"

"Well, you better turn it on. The race of vampires has just gone public."

* * *

Aro looked ill as he leaned heavily against the far wall, eyes still locked on the TV screen. No one had moved or spoken in the last few minutes. All that could be heard was the newswoman's continued commentary.

"Already witnesses are coming forward claiming that the attacker is David Berry. We are awaiting confirmation from his family. David has been presumed dead for the last six months when he failed to return from a camping trip."

Behind the attractive reporter the footage of the vampire clutching the bride, his body shimmering in the full light of the sun, continued on an endless news loop. Her words were meaningless as I viewed the video, just a soft buzzing in my ears while I considered the ramifications of our existence becoming public.

"So far there are four confirmed dead including the groom, Troy Michaels. Witnesses have woven a disturbing tale claiming that the attacker is not human. We have on scene, Sheila Akron. Sheila?"

"Thank you, Beth. I am speaking with the bride's father, Mr. Morgan."

Sheila shoved her microphone into the distraught man's face and questioned, "Tell us, Mr. Morgan, what exactly happened this afternoon?"

"The ceremony was nearly over…" He stuttered as he wiped a shaky hand across his face, drying the tears that still clung to his cheeks and eyelashes. "They were exchanging their rings when this…this white blur flashed across the room…" His voice faltered, his eyes widened as he relived the moment of terror.

"And then what?" Sheila asked in a breathy voice, completely engrossed in his tale.

"It ripped my son-in-law's heart out of his che…chest." He began openly sobbing again, but that did not dissuade Sheila from getting her story. She handed him a napkin and prompted him to continue.

"That thing, it threw his heart to the floor, but even before it landed he had my Rachael and he…he…bit her neck, like he was feeding from her and her bl…blood was everywhere. Her dress soaked with it."

"Then what, Mr. Morgan?"

"He growled and pulled away, then snatched her up and leaped all the way across the church. It, that monster, took my baby…killed my little girl."

"You continue to refer to the attacker as it. What exactly was it, Mr. Morgan?"

"I don't know…don't know." He shook his head in disbelief. "It looked like her ex-boyfriend David. But it can't be David. I've known him for eight years and he is…was… not capable of such a thing. This monster, it drank her blood…moved fast…terribly strong…But it's daylight, it can't be…" he trailed off uncertainly.

"Can't be what?"

"A vampire, can it?"

Ah. And there it was. The one word we'd all been holding our breath and hoping against all hope wouldn't be uttered-vampire. Just like that, our secret had gone global. How on earth were we supposed clean up this mess?

His words left our room as silent as a grave. There was no sense of life here as we tried to wrap our minds around our latest challenge. I finally forced my hand to release the phone I'd still been clutching and set it gently on the nearest table. That one small movement brought life back into the room in a rush and set the rest of the vampires into action, their frantic voices carrying nervously through the room.

Aro's eyes met mine. The panic on his face was so clear. That freaked me out more than anything else. Here stood a being that'd walked the earth for more than three millenia and he was scared. That did nothing to bolster me.

I went to his side completely ignoring everyone else. There was only one vampire I wanted to see right now-to be comforted by- and he was not here, so I ignored the rest and focused on Aro.

His translucent hand trembled as he grasped mine. "Dear God, Isabella, what…" His eyes kept frantically darting everywhere. "How does one even begin to rectify this, to contain it?"

I wished I could say I had some grand idea, but at the moment all that was in my head was the image of the sparkling vampire and the words of Mr. Morgan's as he unknowingly outed our race. I bit my lip hard as I searched for the words that would ease his fears. "They'll never catch him, Aro," I declared calmly, though calm was far from what I was feeling at the moment. "There will never be a body to examine, no proof. So he sparkled, so what?" I asked, my tone unconcerned. "There are tons of mythical creatures we can blame it on. That footage does not prove that it was a vampire, not a vampire that humans would recognize anyways. When they think about vampires all they see is Dracula, and we are quite different from that image." Even as I spoke the words with such conviction, I did not believe them. "What we need to do now is lay low for a while until this madness dies down."

We stared intently at each other. He was silent as he mulled over my words and my forced calm. I watched the man I knew return. His terror vanished and he straightened to his full height, to his normal arrogant and regal posture, and patted my hand reassuringly. "Precisely. We will issue a mandate that there are to be no new vampires created and no feeding on humans." He sighed heavily. "We will all have to exist on the blood of animals for the time being as we cannot have any more human deaths for the authorities to investigate." He led me out of the chaotic room where the other vampires were still talking over one another. Away from the live news report that was now showing paramedics on the scene who had just confirmed that three of the victims had had their "throats torn out savagely."

Savagely? "As if there was any other way to have ones throat torn out," I muttered to myself as I closed the door.

* * *

With our goblets of blood in hand, we sat opposite each other in Aro's private chamber. It was a very masculine room. There were fur rugs so plush that you could barely see your feet when you walked across them. Several black leather couches with sharp lines, and black lacquered tables took up most of the floor space. On his walls were black and white photographs that depicted different cityscapes.

"While everyone else was gripped with fear, you were already crafting a plan to save us, to protect our species. Do you have any idea how very proud I am of you, Isabella? I am so lucky that you are now a part of my Volturi." He took a sip of blood before leaning forward. "I want you to lead the team to North Carolina and clean up this mess," he declared with an expression that suggested he was giving me some priceless gift.

"Me?" I spluttered and the mouthful of blood I'd just taken spattered everywhere. I was horrified as he drew a handkerchief from his pocket with a flourish and wiped his amused face clean before offering it to me. I guess when one's face is splattered with blood, one does not bother being gentlemanly. I set my goblet down with shaky hands and cleaned up my mess.

"Yes you, Isabella. You may choose those who accompany you." I had always hated being called Isabella and I wasn't liking it any better now. I had no idea why he'd taken to calling me that lately. I really hoped it wouldn't last.

"Any suggestions for what it is I'm supposed to do once I get there?" I asked, my tone dripping with irritation and a little bit of anger. I didn't want to be the one that had to deal with everything again. A small smile began to tug at my lips despite my sour mood. When I'd been human all I'd wanted was the strength to take care of myself and those I loved, to not be a liability. Well, I definitely was not a liability any more and I certainly had more than my fair share of power. The phrase be careful what you wish for came to mind. I'd gotten everything I'd wanted and then some and was irked because people now depended on me to save the day.

"Ah, Isabella," he chuckled. "You are clever and powerful. I have no doubt that you will discover a suitable solution to our quandary."

"You have too much faith in me! I have no clue how to go about covering this up."

"Now, now, my dear Bella. Stop your fretting. You will perform this as flawlessly as any other task. Now, select your team. I should think that it would be prudent to keep the number small. Five or so, yes?" I nodded still in a daze and he took my silence for acceptance and continued, "I will also dispatch several other teams to enforce our new mandates. Those who refuse to adhere to our temporary laws…well, better that we destroy the lesser, more problematic vampires, than to risk further exposure I dare say."

**Okies, please review. I'd love to get 10 comments before my next post. They encourages me to write faster and update more often, plus, I really like hearing frrom all of you. **

**Thanks**

**Sabrina**


	2. Chapter 2 Girl Talk

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I promised a post after 10 reviews and so you shall have one! Thanks for the comments Nerdlee, darkalyria, twilightfan0195, Darkmistres, LindyP, obsidianvamp, UntilMyHeartStopsBeating, jj1507, MickeyandMinnie, MyChemicalRomance70, and Joanna11. I really appreciate it and love hearing from all of you. Not sure how important this one chapter really is, but I did want some Bella and Alice time. Let me know what you think.**

**Chapter Two Girl Talk**

Felix and Ben were deep in conversation at the front of the plane. I didn't need supersensitive hearing to know that Felix was giving him a hard time. Waves of discomfort were drifting down the aisle from them. Felix had been quite vocal about his distrust for our reformed vampire and thought I was out of my mind to include him on our mission, but I figured the more powerful the better, and Ben was powerful. I saw no point in wasting all that talent by keeping him under lock and key at Volterra.

Also joining us were Santiago and his wife, Mia. So far I hadn't really had a chance to get to know her, but somehow I thought that would all change before this task was completed.

They'd wanted to go back to Romania and help police the vamps in that region, but Aro was hesitant to allow that, hence them joining my team where they would remain under my watchful eye. They had made preparations with the remaining Elders in Romania before leaving so Aro would not have to waste precious guards there that were needed elsewhere.

Did I mention how thrilled I was not to be on that particular assignment? I really did not want to have to hunt down our own kind and kill them for doing what came naturally. There would be many vampires that would not be able to follow Aro's mandate to not consume human blood and there would be no second chances. If they were caught disobeying then they were dead.

Compared to that, erasing the sparkling image from the human populations' minds was like a dream come true. Maybe if I was lucky I'd only have to kill David. Not that we'd even decided on that yet, but it seemed fairly certain.

"Time for some girl talk," Alice simpered as she sidled up to Justin. "I'm sure Jasper has some good pointers to share about fighting and other manly stuff." She gave him a stern look commanding him with her pretty eyes to move his butt so she could torture me some more.

He shot me a questioningly glance. Since I'd come back without Edward he'd been very protective of me. It was like he knew what had transpired even though I hadn't mentioned it to anyone, least of all him. He hadn't let any of the Cullens have me to themselves yet, and for that I was grateful. I gave him what I hoped looked like a reassuring smile. "It's fine. You need to know this stuff and Jasper is an expert at fighting." He nodded and gave my arm a squeeze before pushing past Alice who cast an irritated smirk at him before promptly taking his seat.

"You've been avoiding me," she trilled.

I had been avoiding her. Certain that she'd foreseen my debauchery and not wanting to listen to her tirade, I'd gone out of my way to always have someone - Renata, Justin or Felix - close by my side. "Please," I scoffed. "I've just been busy."

Her toe tapped out a quick rhythm as she scrutinized my face. "I'm your best friend, right?"

"Of course."

"And best friends share pretty much _everything_, don't they?"

I sighed. I knew where this was leading and also that there was no avoiding it, which was why she'd chosen to do it on the plane. She was a devious little pixie. "I guess," I muttered, defeated.

A huge smile filled her face, her eyes sparkled with satisfaction. "Want to tell me why Edward didn't come back with you?"

I cast her a doubtful look. "Like you don't already know."

She did her best to look innocent, but I was so not buying it. "I don't," she insisted.

Could it be? Was there some reason that she'd miss something that big? It didn't seem likely, but she'd been rather preoccupied since here near death experience. She and Jasper had been going at it like bunnies every minute of the day since she'd been feeling better. They made Rosalie and Emmett look positively chaste.

"What do you see when you look into my future now?" I finally asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I'd been too afraid to turn my powers on myself and see what the future held for me and Edward. He'd told me it was temporary, but with an ocean between us it was hard to make myself believe that he'd ever forgive me and come back to me. I knew I didn't deserve his forgiveness and even if he managed it, it wouldn't be because he really meant it, but because he was so irrevocably bound to me that it was physically impossible for him to stay away.

"That's just it, Bella…" her voice tore me from my internal turmoil. "I can't see _anything_ where you're concerned," she admitted, her voice tinged with anger.

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since you healed me…saved my life…" she broke off and looked away with a haunted expression etched into her small, perfect face. She gave a little shake of her head and grabbed my hand. "For which I will be eternally grateful, don't get me wrong. But ever since then, well, my powers don't seem to work on _you_ anymore."

Well, that was unexpected and yet couldn't have happened at a better time! I quickly concentrated on trying to see her future to see if I was met with the same roadblocks, but I could see exactly what she'd be doing in the next twenty minutes and how I wished I could get that sight out of my mind.

"Search for Edward's then," I suggested.

"How about we just cut the crap, Bella, and you tell me what I want to know," she demanded, her voice going down an octave as she became more agitated. When I didn't speak quickly enough for her liking she grabbed my arm and gave me her best pouty face, her lower lip trembling, her eyes big and pathetic. God! Who stood a chance against such a sight? I knew I didn't. "Don't you love me Bella? Am I not your bestest friend?"

"Yes, but…"

"And didn't we already decide that best friends share everything?" She continued as though I hadn't spoken.

"Alice," I growled.

She pointed her perfectly manicured finger in my face. "Don't '_Alice'_ me! I am not accustomed to being in the dark and it's all your fault, so you owe me and all I'm asking for is a wee bit of information. Please."

I groaned. She wouldn't stop. It was a long flight and I really didn't want to be badgered by the annoying pixie for the next ten hours. "We're just taking a little break," I offered feebly.

"And why, pray tell, is a break needed after all the time you two have already spent apart this past month?"

"I really don't want to…"

"Well, you bloody well are going to talk about it. What happened in Forks that pissed my dear brother off to the point where he'd willingly leave you again?"

"I went out with Mike Newton?" I offered lamely.

She chuckled. "That would definitely do it, but that's not what really happened."

"It's the only answer you're going to get, so drop it."

"Well, aren't you grumpy? Alright. Alright. Consider the subject closed. For now. How about you tell me what our plan is once we land?"

Hmmm, that wasn't exactly an improvement. I still had no idea what we were going to do. I kept waiting for that Aha! moment, but so far it hadn't happened. "I don't know, Alice. Why don't you just search the future and tell me what we do?" I snapped.

"You know as well as I do that until a decision is made I can't see anything concrete, just some blurs that keep shifting."

"Great. You've just been oh-so-helpful," I bit out between clenched teeth wishing more than anything for my room back at Volterra where I was completely and utterly alone.

"Ok, ladies," Jasper interrupted while sending out waves of soothing energy as he and Justin took the seats in front of ours. "I think that's about all the girl time Bella can handle. Lets get down to the fun stuff." He glanced around the cabin then back at us. "Almost makes me miss Emmett. Nothing makes him happier than a good fight."

"Somehow I doubt we'll be fighting much. Unless we stumble on the idiot who started this fiasco." I sighed softly. "You know…why don't you and Justin…and Santiago if he'll be separated from Mia, track our wayward vamp and the rest of us will handle the cleanup."

"And Felix and Ben?" Jasper asked. He didn't much trust Benjamin either. I think they were being overly hard on him really. I mean, the Cullens had been aligned with the Romanians in the beginning. It was only me forcing their hand that had them end up on opposing sides. They all seemed to forget that now that they had to work with Ben.

Justin replied, "I'd feel better if there were some men with them."

"God forbid we take care of a problem without a man by our side," I replied snidely, though I did feel better knowing that I had both of them at my disposal. Felix was very loyal to me and Ben…well I felt very safe knowing he had my back.

"Don't mind her Jazz," Alice chimed in, a wicked glint in her eyes. "Bella's grumpy today. Want to hear my theory?"

"Of course," Jasper answered at the same time I blurted out, "No!"

"Sex." She shrugged ignoring my indignation. "Or rather, lack of sex." She turned to me with a very understanding look that just smacked of a therapist. "Tell us, Bella, when's the last time you got laid?"

"Alice!" I snarled absolutely mortified. I'd have been crimson if I'd had blood enough to blush. Jasper and Justin chuckled at my outrage, but did have the good sense to try and stifle it.

"You know there are things you can do while you're separated from you sex-god," she added pointedly.

"Oh my god. You must stop. I am not grumpy because of a lack of orgasms."

The three of them burst into laughter and I soon found myself following suit.

"There now, that's more like it," Alice managed after a few minutes passed.

Oddly, the ridiculous conversation had made me feel better. It was nice to be a part of the family again and to laugh again. It'd been a long time since I'd really just laughed.

Alice picked up my hand and examined it closely. "These are horrendous," she murmured.

"What is?"

"Your nails." She ran to the back and grabbed a bag before gliding back to her seat. "I can't believe you were planning on being seen like this," she chastised as she took my hand a bit roughly and began, what I was sure would be, a long manicure. All was right in the world in Alice's book as long as one possessed flawless nails. I sighed for the umpteenth time and rested my head against the seat trying to get as comfortable as possible.

My mind kept bouncing between images of Edward and Christian when I finally had my Aha! moment. I knew how to fix this mess. Once I'd made the decision I was lost in a vision. I felt Alice falter as I opened my mind to her to let her share in the vision she could no longer see on her own.

When we came back both guys were staring at us intently waiting expectantly.

"I guess you've finally made a decision then?" she asked. I smiled broadly feeling a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

"Yep. And better still…"

"…It's going to work," she supplied happily. She tapped her nails on the armrest. "Too bad Edward isn't here. He'd come in quite handy with the paperwork we'll have to forge."

I hated to admit it, but she was right.

"Can you not call him? Where is he anyways?" Jasper asked.

"New Hampshire. And I guess I could call him, but I can't make any guarantees that he'll come."

"Are you really so clueless?" Alice snorted. "My brother loves nothing more than to swoop in on his white steed and save his woeful damsel in distress. Of course he'll help you. It's perfect, really. You're both so stubborn. Goodness knows how long you would have stretched out this separation otherwise. This will get you back together much sooner," she practically sang.

"What the heck happened between you two?" Jasper finally asked the question he'd been burning to ask. They all wanted that particular answer, but I just got my family back and I was not prepared to lose them so soon.

"Didn't you hear? I went out with Mike Newton."

He chortled softly, shaking his blond head back and forth. "Yeah, and I went dancing with Jessica," he scoffed.

Alice growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously on her poor husband.

"Aw, don't be like that, Alice," Jasper pleaded, looking more than a little concerned that the pint sized vamp was failing to see the humor in his innocent remark.

She grabbed his arm angrily and dragged him to the bathroom to make him forget the name Jessica I assumed. Not that I was shocked. I'd seen them in there when I'd searched her future earlier, just hadn't seen what had led them to be so publicly amorous.

Justin returned back to his original seat and we both did our damnedest to ignore the sounds from the restroom.

**

* * *

**

As Alice walked back down the aisle smoothing out her clothes she flung her cell phone at me. "Call Edward," she commanded.

He'd called me a few days ago and hadn't sounded like he hated me. Maybe he wouldn't mind hearing from me so soon. But I didn't really believe that. If I could sweat my palms would be a clammy mess, as it was, I was trembling minutely and nauseas.

"You okay?" Justin asked, his voice full of concern.

I nodded, flipping the phone open and dialed his number with shaky fingers. He picked up on the third ring.

"What now, Alice?" He asked irritably. Had she been harassing him the way she'd been harassing me? It sounded like it. Great. He was so not going to be thrilled to hear from me.

"Edward, I'm ready." A woman's voice wrenched my thoughts away from my devilish sister and her constant interfering. He was with a girl!

"Alice? I don't have time for your questions. What did you want?" His smooth voice flowed over me leaving me dazzled. If the unexpected woman's presence with my husband hadn't been enough to leave me speechless, the ridiculous effect he had on me was.

I knew he was waiting for a response. So, I did the only thing that I could think of-I hung up. He was with some woman. My loyal and faithful husband was with some…tramp. Jasper's head swung toward me, a puzzled frown tugging at his lips as he took in my pallid face.

Alice started banging her head against the seat in front of her. "I swear! You two are going to be the death of me. What did my idiotic brother do now?" She spat out. "Because, I just searched _his_ future and you no longer seem to be a part of it."

I climbed over Justin and locked myself in the bathroom while I tried to pull myself together.

How could I be mad at him when I'd been unfaithful first? Well, mad wasn't exactly what I was. Hurt, shocked, heartbroken, yep, those summed it up_. "This is exactly how he felt when you confessed your infidelity to him,"_ I mumbled to myself. "_You deserve this, deserve to suffer the way he suffered."_

But that so wasn't Edward. He would never ever do that to me, not even if I deserved it.

Still, his words the day he left made me wonder. _"There will never be anyone else for me, not for love at least." _He'd just been angry and lashing out. That's all. At least that's what I wanted to believe.

And, just because there was some girl with him didn't mean that he was cheating on me, right? Perhaps she simply needed a cup of sugar or something. Riiight.

"_I love you, Bella, but I hate you too." _I pressed the heal of my hands roughly against my eyes trying to block out the vision of his wounded face when he left the house a few days ago. It had felt like months, but in reality it had only been four days since I'd last seen him.

I groaned and tried to shut down my emotions. Maybe I could find some other vampire with medical experience to help us. We didn't need Edward…I kept replaying Alice's depressing declaration: "_Because, I just searched his future and you no longer seem to be a part of it."_

God, what had done?

**And don't fret, Ed and Bells couldn't get back to their blissful ways so easily, but things are rarely what they seem. Does that help? LOL! The sooner you review the sooner you'll find out!**

**Thanks**

**Sabrina**


	3. Chapter 3 Bastard

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Thanks to those who nominated my last two fics for Eddie awards. Anyone else wanting to nominate fics they are accepting nominations until the 25****th****. Check it out at: http://www(dot) thecatt (dot) net/tw/Default (dot) aspx **

**And thanks to all you lovely reviewers! Wow! You really put a huge grin on my face!**

**Chapter Three Bastard!**

**Alice POV**

My phone rang softly against Bella's seat where she'd carelessly dropped it before climbing over the back of the seat and locking herself in the bathroom.

I didn't need to see the future to know that it was Edward calling. "Edward, what the hell did you say to Bella?" I tried to keep the anger out of my voice because he tended to be difficult when others had the audacity to be mad at him. A difficult Edward would not answer my questions. And I wanted some answers, dammit.

"To Bella? I didn't…" his voice trailed off and he swore softly. "Damn it. It's not what she thinks."

"And what does she think?"

"Where's Bella? I need to talk to her," he said in a rush ignoring my question completely. Why would neither one of them tell me anything? It was beyond frustrating.

"She's locked herself in the bathroom," I supplied.

Again he swore. "You have to…what's wrong? Why was she calling?"

"Does your wife really need a specific reason to call you?"

He was quiet a moment. "No," he finally answered in a clipped voice. "Now tell me what's wrong, because I know something is."

"What's wrong? Hmmm, well, the better question would be what's right. It would be a much shorter answer since pretty much nothing is right."

"Alice! Are you purposely being a pain…being difficult?"

"Bella's locked in the bathroom on the plane and practically killing Jasper with her emotions. We have a crazed vampire running around stealing brides and getting it all caught on tape. You are in New Hampshire instead of here with us…What more could be wrong?"

"You're on a plane? Right now? Where?" He asked trying to make sense of my rantings. I noticed he ignored all the other points I made, not that I had any intention of letting him get away with it, but it could wait. It was important to talk him into meeting us. Not just for his help sorting out this mess in North Carolina, but to save his marriage to my best friend. Whatever was wrong was not going to get fixed by a separation. "We're flying to North Carolina. Bella is leading the clean up team and she needed your assistance with part of the plan."

"Bella is back in the states?" He sounded almost frightened.

"Edward, focus!" I snapped. "Can you meet us at the airport?"

"I don't know."

"Edward Cullen! You get your butt to North Carolina right now. Do you hear me?" I whispered furiously so Bella wouldn't overhear. "Do you know what I see when I search your future?" When he remained silent I hissed, "Do you?"

"What?" He finally growled.

"Well, what I don't see is you with Bella. Is that what you want?"

"If that is her decision then I will honor it," he replied stiffly.

"I'll meet you at the car," a feminine voice interjected.

"Who the hell is that?" I screeched. Had Bella heard her? No wonder she was hiding in the bathroom.

"Never mind. I have to go."

"Will you…" Damn. He'd already hung up and I still didn't have any answers to my questions. Well, I knew what was wrong with Bella. Sort of. Why would Edward be with someone else? Had he left her after all she'd gone through in the past month to get back to him?

I gazed into the future to see if he'd be waiting for us at the airport, but his brooding form was missing from the bustle of the busy airport. "Bastard," I muttered. Jasper was studying me. He'd probably heard all of it anyway. "Can you believe him?" He scooped me up into his strong arms and set me on his lap. "Don't tell Bella I talked to him. Especially that I asked him to help us," I pleaded of both of them. It would crush her to know that he'd refused to help us…to help her.

Justin gave me an odd look. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about him I just didn't like. Maybe it was how protective of Bella he was. He hadn't let any of us near her the past few days. Like Bella needed protection from us. We were her family. Not him. Still, look at what Edward was doing to her. Maybe she did need protection from him and his selfishness.

"She can read minds, you know?" Justin pointed out. What a know it all. A couple of weeks with Bella and he thinks he's an expert on her.

"Only when she wants to. And since she feels that it's an invasion of our privacy I don't think we'll have anything to worry about," I replied tersely. Who the heck did he think he was?

* * *

**Bella POV**

I ignored all of their cautious glances as I exited the plane. I'd spent the rest of the flight crammed into the small bathroom trying to mend the deep fissure that had torn through my heart again. I didn't have time to screw with emotions right now, so I tucked them away tight. All that was left was a calm indifference.

I could feel their worried gazes burning over me. I saw Jasper, out of the corner of my eye, hold Alice back. Thank God. I didn't want to answer her questions. The Spanish Inquisition had nothing on Alice. I'd have much rather faced that than her.

Santiago handed me some papers. "This is everything we found on David Berry."

I skimmed them over while the others gathered our luggage and took them to the two cars that were waiting for us. "He attempted suicide twice," I murmured to myself. That would make our job much easier. And better still, I wouldn't need Edward's help after all. Surely David had seen a doctor after the first attempt. That's all I needed to discredit him.

* * *

**(Underground bunker outside of Washington DC)**

"We've added two more subjects. One is a clairvoyant and the other a voodoo witch," Kinly noted as he glanced over the clipboard in his overly large hand.

"I don't think they like to be referred to as witches. You might want to strike that word from your vocabulary next time you deal with her," I reminded him. I didn't know why I bothered. Kinly had no love for the people we were experimenting on.

I watched his face flush with anger at my warning. "Like I fucking care what that bitch wants to be called. It's not like she's going to be alive much longer anyway. Once we retrieve her DNA she's absolutely useless to us," he sneered and shoved the clipboard into my hands. Pulling out a cigar, he smiled maniacally. "I've even been given permission to terminate her however I see fit." He inhaled the length if the cigar appreciatively before putting it in his mouth and lighting it, the foul smoke choking me.

"No one mentioned that to me," I coughed and backed away. The way he smoked and his horrendous dietary choices should have been enough to put Kinly in an early grave, but he just kept on living. Pity. I'd known him for thirty of our fifty years and his demeanor had only gotten worse, more twisted and sinister

"We can't just let them leave once we're done testing them. They would be a fucking liability to our experiment and our national security."

He was right, but I had held out hope that we'd find some other use for them. "Colonel Jefferson is due to arrive shortly. He's interested in the results from the last experiment."

He blew out a puff of smoke and pulled his sagging belt up to his bulbous stomach. "I was beginning to doubt if we'd ever fucking blend their DNA with our soldiers, but now…Ian can see the goddamn future and hear peoples' thoughts. Can you just imagine an entire elite unit of soldiers enhanced with these worthless freaks' DNA? No one…no fucking country will ever stand a chance against us."

My cell vibrated in my pocket and I checked the message. "They are ready for us."

* * *

Our newest recruit was hunched in the corner of the room. "We sedated her," the assistant whispered. I nodded and pushed past her. The woman was breathtaking. Her caramel skin gleamed, her black hair fell to the floor shielding most of her from view, but what showed through was spectacular. What a waste.

I picked her up effortlessly as she couldn't weigh a pound more than a hundred. The drugs in her system kept her from struggling, but they didn't prevent her from cursing at me. Normally I wouldn't be concerned, but she was a voodoo priestess of great power and goodness knew what effect her words would have. "Gag her," I muttered as I tried to place her gently on the table.

Dr. Anderson was there with his medical tray. "This will only take half an hour or so, gentlemen." He withdrew a needle and glanced back at us. "Ready Sergeant Lee. As soon as I'm done here I need him brought in so I can blend their DNA's."

He was deep in concentration as he focused on the subject. "Oh, and Kinly? Ready a unit to deploy. I've been notified that we possess proof of the existence of vampires and I want one in this facility by the end of the week."

"Fuck me!" he swore. "Don't know why I'm fucking shocked. We've been slicing up werewolves, why not vampires?"


	4. Chapter 4 Phase One

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Aww, thanks everyone! You're comments were the highlight of my rather glum day. Perhaps that explains my rather glum chapter. A little long, but I was trying to set everything up in one post. Let me know what you think.**

**Chapter Four Phase One**

**Bella POV**

North Carolina was not vampire friendly with its perky weather. We'd spent most of our second day here locked away in our hotel room waiting for twilight to come. I'd already arranged a meeting with a few of the local police officers. Alice and Mia were coming, as well. It was actually less of a meeting and more of a date. At least that's what the cops thought.

Jasper and Santiago were pouting even as we primped. Never mind that none of us were interested in our dates. That we were just using them to find out what kind of evidence they had and any leads they might have, seemed to have eluded them.

Jasper and Justin were supposed to start tracking David tonight. I hoped that Jasper could keep his jealousy at bay and concentrate on his part of the job.

Jealousy…hmph. I seemed to have been bitten by the green-eyed-monster as well. I could still hear that girl's voice clearly and it was burning through me like vampire venom. We'd all reached a silent understanding. No one was to bring up Edward in any way shape or form. I could keep myself together as long as his name wasn't uttered, questions weren't asked. So far, they'd followed this rule to the letter, even Alice.

Actually, she seemed off. Where she was pestering me relentlessly hours earlier, now she was withdrawn-almost closed off. I had enough going on right then, I certainly did not have time to decipher what the change in her moods meant.

Mia plopped down beside me, her black hair piled high on her head exposing her sculpted shoulders which were emphasized by her strapless burgundy dress.

"She just kept redoing my make up," she complained in a thick accent. Fortunately she talked rather slow and I was able to understand her. I'd heard her arguing with Santiago about which soap opera they were going to watch and even though they were both speaking English, I made out very little of what they said because they were speaking so fast. Two guesses who actually won that argument, but I'm sure you'd only need one.

"Better you than me," I pointed out with a satisfied grin. I'd been trusted to primp all on my own. Shocking, I know. Alice hadn't seen me yet, so I wasn't exactly safe. She might take one look and demand a whole make over.

The door flung open and Alice stood there practically glowing in her cream and gold sequin dress. She made the rest of us look like slugs. I glanced down at my navy halter dress and cringed. She'd never be satisfied.

But she walked right past me and grabbed up the keys. "Come on, ladies. We're wasting time."

* * *

I had the pleasure of spending my evening with Deputy Richardson. Fortunately, he was cute and nice. Mia hadn't been quite so lucky. Oh, he was a perfect gentleman, but his looks left a lot to be desired. His was overly tall and gangly which made him look even younger than his twenty-two years. His mop or red hair was unruly and when I say red, I mean red! I'd never seen anything like that in nature, but he swore he'd never dyed his hair. Seriously, we asked. He would have been pale if it weren't for the freckles that seemed to cover every inch of his body. Well, at least the exposed parts. Still, he was adorable, and Mia didn't look like she was miserable and he was chatty. I knew she was getting all kinds of useful info.

Alice wasn't even trying, I don't think. She was out on the dance floor with Deputy Clarkson who was the embodiment of a male stripper. "Yummy" didn't even begin to describe him. Thank goodness Jasper couldn't read minds. I'd hate to see how he'd react if he saw the way they were dancing.

"So, you traveled all the way down here to catch a glimpse of a vampire? I hope you haven't been too disappointed," my date murmured.

I laughed, acting embarrassed. "I've always been a little obsessed with them. After I watched the news I couldn't stop myself from coming here. And I'm glad I did. I got to meet you, after all." I cringed. Flirting wasn't something that came naturally to me, but the smile on his tanned face assured me that I was doing okay.

"That _is_ a good point."

"So, what's the verdict? Do vampires exist?" I asked playfully while unleashing Alyria's power. I had to be careful not to use too much. Yesterday I'd used it to charm one of the paramedics on the scene and he'd practically stripped down and begged me to do with him whatever I wanted. In front of everyone! Not my finest moment. Still, we'd gotten all the medical reports on the four deceased victims and even got to check out the bodies at the morgue, so I guess it had been worth it.

"Couldn't say really. He seems to have just disappeared. We've had teams looking night and day. The FBI and Army Reserves are even down here searching."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. But we have found several bodies."

I gave a gasp like a frightened human girl would and super wide eyes. "How many?" This was what we'd been afraid of. I'd hoped he'd had the sense to dispose of his food, but apparently not.

"So far we've found eight. But, there are nearly thirty missing."

"My god. This thing…man has killed thirty people?" I asked not having to fake the horror in my voice, etched into my face.

"No. Well, I don't really know. This has been happening for a while. For the last few months. But this is the first time we've actually found any bodies."

The waitress came over and leaned in close to my date. "Can I get you two another round?" He nodded and handed her some cash.

"How about a dance?" I took his hand and let him lead me near Alice who seemed very entertained by Mr. Chippendale. Damn. It was not fair. No human should look that good. He had captured the attention of every female in the bar. The only humans I'd ever seen come close to his beauty were Justin and Alyria's blood donors.

The song ended quickly. Could it be that I was actually having fun? Actually enjoying dancing? After some more small talk I steered us back to the important stuff. "What was this David guy like before his camping incident?"

"Fucked up," he admitted then blushed. "God, I'm sorry. That was rude." he shook his head, embarrassed. "He had to spend a month at a mental institution for attempted suicide after his girlfriend dumped him," he explained.

"And then?"

"They got back together and everything was fine. Her best friend even said that he'd proposed to her."

"Let me guess, that didn't go quite the way he expected?"

"No," he chuckled. "No, not at all. She said they were too young, that they'd never been with anyone but each other." He brushed a strand of hair away from my face before continuing, "They were childhood sweethearts, you see?"

I nodded thinking back to my whirlwind romance with Edward. It had been so intense. I'd been certain that there would never be anyone else for me. That no man could ever stir in me what Edward had, but I'd been so wrong. Christian had managed to charm me. I was now a huge proponent of 'Don't make lifetime commitments until you'd experienced all there was to experience'. Not that I regretted marrying Edward and giving him my humanity so young. But maybe if we'd taken our time like he wanted, we wouldn't be in the mess we were in now.

"Anyways," he went on completely oblivious to my lack of attention. "He left that night to clear his head and he never came back. Until a week ago," he shrugged.

"How awful."

"You feel bad for the murder?" he asked, perplexed.

"I feel bad for the boy that had his heart broken."

"Doesn't excuse him."

I smiled. "No it doesn't. How about one more dance?"

"Uh-oh. Did I say something wrong?" He asked as he took me into his arms and we began to sway to the slow song playing on the old jukebox.

"No, why?"

"You said one more dance. Sounds like you're calling it a night."

"I am. Sorry. I have to be up early tomorrow."

"How long are you here for? Maybe we could meet up again?" He asked hopefully as he pulled me tighter against his strong body.

"I'm not sure. Give me your number, and if I'm still here in a few days, I'll give you a call. Maybe I'll take you up on your offer to take me sight seeing."

* * *

Back at the hotel, I explained everything to Felix, Ben and Santiago. Their only chore was to purchase tons of vampire paraphernalia. Everything from custom fit fangs to B movies were sitting in a pile on the bed.

Mia rummaged through it, her brows creasing as she read over the plot of one of the books. "This is absurd."

"We need one more thing," Alice noted. "Riley told me that he personally interviewed Rachael's best friend." She sat on the only part of the bed not covered in vampire junk and crossed her legs, a huge grin spreading on her face. "What? Did you think I was just enjoying the scenery?" She laughed.

"From where I was sitting, it didn't look like much talking was taking place," I admitted while Mia nodded in agreement..

"Oh, hush." She threw a catalogue full of vampire merchandise at me. "She was an artist and you'll never guess what her favorite piece was."

"You're right, so why don't you just tell us."

She hissed at me, but her eyes still twinkled good-naturedly. "She painted him as an angel. But what's important is that she had him coated in glitter from head to toe. Riley says that when he proposed to her he was also covered in glitter because she'd been so…well, she'd liked that look on him. Supposedly as soon as she was done painting him she christened her art studio properly," she snickered. "I bet it was messy. And damn near impossible to get all that glitter off."

"How on earth does this help us, Alice?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"I think Christian's blondness has rubbed off on you, Bella."

My face shut down and I tensed at the mention of his name. I knew she meant it as a joke at my moment of ditziness, but her words were truer than she knew. He'd rubbed every inch of that golden hair over my body and it had been wonderful. More than wonderful.

"Bella? You okay?"

I forced myself to smile warmly like she was expecting and nodded.

"His infatuation with the glitter can explain why he was glittering at the church, you see?"

"I guess."

Santiago pushed my extended feet off the couch then sat beside me. "Why so glum all of a sudden? This is working out perfectly. All we need to do is plant these vampire items in his house and add a few lines to his medical file, and we'll be able to leave this place."

Yeah, it sounded so easy. But when had anything that involved me ever gone off with out a hitch? "I forgot to ask Alex whether they were able to access to his medical files."

"Ah, but I did not," Mia replied in her throaty voice. "They are still fighting with his doctor. The doctor is most adamant that no one sees those files. However," she smirked. "I imagine a few minutes alone with you, Isabella, and he'll happily hand them over once we edit them a little."

* * *

**Washington**

The screams echoing from the detention center chilled me. I knew he hadn't received permission to kill her, but apparently he was allowed to torment her. Everything in me wanted to go down there and save her from that crass man, but I wasn't foolish enough to believe that I would ever stand a chance against him. I might have spent most of my life in the military, but I was no warrior. I was a tech geek. You needed a micro anything and I could build it. You wanted someone to go in and kill everything in sight with their bare hands-you sent Kinly.

I continued down the corridor, each step taking me further from her savage cries. "Dr. Anderson," I greeted as I entered the small room where Sergeant Lee was lying on the table being monitored. "How'd it go?"

"Marvelous. Come look," he motioned. "I have mixed a little of everything into him. Watch," he insisted as he helped Sergeant Lee to his feet.

The man transformed into a wolf and then back again. I'd seen that particular trick before, so I wasn't terribly impressed, but when he began to quote my thoughts back to me, I found my brows quirked in surprise, and then he reached out and touched my arm and began telling me everything that I'd ever done. Every secret I had was laid bare to him. I wrenched my arm from him.

"That is most impressive."

"You have no idea," the doctor said with such enthusiasm. "Even in his human form he has all the senses of the wolf. They are all heightened. Nothing could sneak up on him. Nothing could hide from him. Not to mention that his strength has increased exponentially."

"Any luck tracking the vampire?" I inquired. I was doubtful despite the footage I'd watched earlier. It was one thing to have shape shifters. Who knew? Maybe someone else had the idea to mix animal DNA with humans and created them? But vampires? Well, I'd believe that when I saw it.

He sighed in frustration. "No. But we will. If there is one out there, we will find it no matter how far we have to search. No expense has been spared. We have been given extra personnel. It's only a matter of time."

"And the voodoo priestess? What of her?" I was almost afraid to hear his answer, but guilt was running rampant through me.

"What about her? She's played her part," he replied dismissively. Once upon a time he'd been a doctor of such renown. Had dedicated his life to bettering humanity. I'd watched as our government had slowly consumed the great humanitarian in him until all that was left was an old, soulless man who was only happy when causing someone else pain.

"You do not need her for further experiments?"

"Yes. A few more."

"Then why is Kinly down there?"

He shrugged as he recorded Sergeant Lee's vitals. "He's been warned not to terminate her. What more do you want from me?" He asked, his voice rising as he set the clipboard down roughly. "If Kinly doesn't take care of his needs here, he will do so elsewhere, Kayden.

**

* * *

**

**New Hampshire**

"Are you alright?" Anna asked hesitantly as I steered the car through a set of S turns.

"Fine," I muttered, my thoughts wholly centered on Bella. Maybe the universe was trying to tell us something. Maybe we'd been wrong and didn't really belong together. It seemed that every time we turned around one of us was hurting the other, whether we meant to or not.

I was just trying to help Alyria find Melody, and now Bella thought I was cheating on her. As though I ever could.

"Where are we going?"

I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled deeply trying to calm myself. "Alyria tracked her as far as St. Louis. We'll pick up the trail there if we can," I explained.

The day after Alyria and her coven had arrived in Seattle her blood donor, Melody, had gone missing. No matter how much I wanted to rip Christian apart, it would have to wait until we got Melody back. Alyria sent Anna to help me. So far she'd just been a nuisance. After all, she was just a human. What could she really do? Aside from get in my way, slow me down, and become a liability. But Alyria had been so distraught; I couldn't bring myself to refuse her. Better the human than Christian. I doubted my restraint was that good.

Every moment, each hour that ticked by, was spent in hell. All I saw anymore was my Bella in Christian's arms. I hated them both. My anger had only grown since the day she confessed to me. And now she was back in the states and was expecting me to simply go to North Carolina and help her as though nothing was wrong.

This was one mess she'd have to dig herself out of, because I had more important things to take care of.

Ah, who was I kidding? The only reason I wasn't with her right that instant was because I was afraid that my anger would push me to say something I'd regret. She still held my heart. Always would.

* * *

**A/N 2: Just wanted to mention to those who aren't American that _Chippendale_** **is a term for male strippers and my most sincere apologies to all the blonds out there. I do not in any way believe that blonds are dumb, just making use of a typical stereotype. Please, don't take offense. Thanks for reading and comment please. I want to know what you think and what you'd like to see happen. MickeyandMinnie, I have taken your numerous suggestions in your last review under consideration LOL. I'll see what I can do!**

**Sabrina**


	5. Chapter 5 Caught in a Web

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Goodness, this has turned into a complex thing to write. It has to be told from several POV's now. It just can't be helped. I'm a first person writer; I have no experience with third person narration. Please let me hear your thoughts. And thanks to my ever so loyal reviewers! Your thoughtful words make all of this worth it! **

**Lizzy, (AKA: Darkalyria) the chapter title is all your doing. I loved that bit in your review so I used it here! Thanks, dear –hugs-**

**Chapter Five Caught in a Web**

**Bella**

The feeling of foreboding kept gnawing at me while I watched the little hand on the wall clock tick by. We should have heard something from Jasper by now. Everyone was trying to keep calm, because Alice was already a mess, but we all feared that each hour that passed by was a sure sign that all had not gone well on their tracking expedition.

"Why can't I get a vision?" Alice complained in a trembling voice. She'd been trying for the last couple of hours, but so far, nothing. She glared at me. For some reason I was the focus of her anger. Like I had personally done something to jeopardize them. "Aren't you even going to try? My powers have been erratic since I almost died."

I sighed. I had been trying. I just wasn't having any more luck than she was. "If I knew what was happening, Alice, I'd do something. I'm as in the dark as you are."

"I think you are both overreacting," Ben added. "Most likely they are getting close to finding David and simply haven't had a moment's chance to update you."

If I thought Alice had given me '_the look'_ I'd been seriously mistaken. The wrath burning in her golden eyes as she stared Ben down sent chills down my back and I unconsciously took a few steps toward Ben to protect him should Alice attack. "And how would you feel if Tia was out there right now and hadn't contacted you when she was supposed to. You heard what Deputy Richardson told Bella. They have the Army Reserves and the FBI out there looking for vampires."

"Point taken. But they are only four hours late. Do yourself a favor and relax."

* * *

**Edward**

Tracking with Anna had been nearly impossible. I picked up Melody's trail outside St. Louis the night before, but one can not track from inside a car, which meant that I had to carry Anna while I raced through the woods.

I'd stopped in Cincinnati to give her a break. The temperature there was still cold, especially to a human who'd been subjected to speeds of a hundred miles per hour or more for the last couple hours.

When she called out to me, her teeth chattered. "Order me a steak," she managed from the bathroom. "And extra towels."

I went about fulfilling her requests as I considered the fate of Melody. Alyria had told me very little. All I knew was that Melody had gone missing and Alyria was scared to death. But, there was another scent mingled with Melody's- a vampire's.

I slipped my cell out and dialed Alyria's number, praying with everything I had that Christian would not answer the phone.

"Edward," her sultry voice spilled over me. My body reacted against my will. I abhorred dealing with her; it always made me feel the need to apologize to Bella. "Have you found her?"

I cleared my throat and tried to think with my brain and not something else. "I am in Ohio. Anna needed a break. But their scent is strong. I will find her, Alyria." I vowed.

"I can't lose her, Edward. There's no time for a break. Please, you must find her tonight."

"Who is with her?"

Her breath hissed into the phone as she struggled to remain calm enough to respond. "Give me the phone," Christian interjected. I closed my eyes mentally preparing myself to converse with the one being that I wanted dead more than all others. "Edward?" He asked hesitantly.

"I'm here," I bit out, my body trembling with rage. I saw him lying on top of Bella, her beautiful moans urging him on, her body wrapped tightly around his and it stole my breath away. I collapsed into the chair as I struggled to breathe.

"She's too upset to explain," he supplied. Did he know that I knew? Had Bella been talking to him?

"Fine, get on with it," I said as calmly as I could.

"Years and years ago, Alyria was involved with Gaston. It was a torrid thing-on his part at least. That's the drawback of being with Alyria. One can become addicted to her. When she grew tired of him she cast him aside-"

"Is there anyway for you to speed this up? Perhaps you find this hard to imagine, but I truly have no desire deal with someone who has so few morals," I said lightly.

The silence on the other end left me to conclude that he'd been unaware that I knew the truth about him and Bella. "Your silence speaks volumes."

"This is not the time to deal with this, Edward. Melody is in grave danger. God only knows what Gaston plans to do with her."

"I swore to Alyria that I would find her, that I would not let anything happen to her. And unlike you, I am a man of my word."

"Are you referring to my night with Bella?" He chortled. "I never swore not to bed her," he taunted.

The rage coursing through me was all consuming. I had to force my hand to relax, lest I destroyed my phone before I found out the pertinent information on the vampire that had abducted Melody. "Ah, true. Perhaps I should have said that I am honorable, where as, you are not."

"So honorable that you ordered your newborn wife to travel to Volterra and pretend to be my lover? So honorable that when she asked you if she was to whore herself out, that you said to do what was necessary? Edward," he gave a mirthless laugh, "Your definition of the word honorable differs greatly from mine."

"You did not fuck her because you needed to keep up pretenses; you did so because you're a selfish bastard. And if you had really cared about Bella-"

"Do not talk to me about caring about Bella. I adore her. I am irrevocably in love with her. And I by no means forced her to be with me."

"You are incapable of love," I shouted back.

Neither one of us spoke for a few breaths.

Christian finally broke the silence and asked, "Shall I continue briefing you or are we going to waste time bickering?"

"By all means…continue, but know this, Christian, I will return Melody to you and then we will properly address this situation," I warned, my voice dropping as a growl rumbled through my chest.

"Duly noted. Where was I? Yes. Alyria broke his heart. Funny how women can drive men to such desperate measures, wouldn't you agree?"

"Christian," I snarled menacingly.

"Right. Right. We received a note today with two photographs. Shall I read it to you or just sum it up?"

"A brief summary will suffice."

"Alyria stole his heart and destroyed his life. He's just repaying the favor and he thinks that the ideal way to accomplish that is through Melody - someone Alyria cherishes more than almost anyone. Personally, I think he should have chosen Viktor. Alyria is completely enamored of him, but I'm guessing that he plans on using rape as a means of torture. Apparently he doesn't swing both ways. I'm surprised we have not see pictures of that yet…or a video. There would be little point in raping Melody if Alyria couldn't see it. All he desires is Alyria's suffering." he paused, his stoic tone slipping. He was trying so hard to act unaffected, but his words were haunting him. "If he'd taken Viktor, Alyria would have moved heaven and earth to save him. I'm not entirely sure she will show the same initiative where Melody is concerned."

My only excuse for my words was that I was trying to erase the images of Melody being raped and his declaration of love for my Bella, so I decided to be an ass to him. "You do like listen to yourself speak, don't you? What happened to the brief summary? And just to point out, Alyria seems highly distraught about Melody and willing to do whatever necessary to get her back, unlike you who would rather try and steal another man's wife." I added.

He ignored my taunting. "Not whatever. Trust me on that. She would not trade one of us to get Melody back. She would risk all of us if it were Viktor that he held. If Gaston wanted to cause Alyria the most pain, the prudent choice would have been Viktor."

"Fine. It is irrelevant. Get on with the story," I snapped, my patience thoroughly expended. At least I wasn't imagining Bella screwing him. Now all I saw was me killing him. God help him, because if I ran into him, nothing would be able to save him from my wrath.

"That's about it. An eye for an eye. She breaks his heart, he breaks hers."

"What about the photographs?"

"Has there been a change in Melody's scent since you began tracking her?" He asked warily.

I froze at that question. "No." I didn't bother to ask why. I already knew. He'd changed her.

"The pictures are before and after shots. She was physically assaulted in the before shot," his voice trembled slightly as he admitted that. Perhaps the snide remarks between us were simply a way to mask his fear and pain at what had befallen his blood donor. "And the after shot is of Melody as a vampire."

"Three days," I mused as I considered this. The picture had to be at least three days old. He could be anywhere by now. The only silver lining was that her newborn status would make traveling difficult and limited. He wouldn't be able to just board a plane with her- she'd attack everyone. "Alyria's right, I don't have time to let Anna rest. We'll set out within the hour."

"Thank you," he said, and there was no mistaking the sincerity of those two words.

"I am in no way doing this for you," I replied, then after a short pause I added, "I'm sorry about Melody."

"Thanks. But it's what she wanted. Alyria was planning on changing her once Viktor acclimated. Two newborns at once are a little much," he explained.

Alyria had changed Viktor the first week she'd returned to Seattle, which was why I was tracking Melody and not her. Alyria had sent both Anna and Melody to another hotel so as not to incite Viktor's bloodlust. When Anna woke up the next morning, Melody was gone and Alyria couldn't be bothered to leave his side. Christian's words rang true. She would sacrifice the others for Viktor. Though, to her credit, she had no way of knowing that Melody had been abducted at the time.

As soon as Viktor's transformation was complete she had begun tracking Melody herself. But her loyalty to Viktor gave Gaston two days' head start. If Alyria had forsaken Viktor, then she probably could have reached Melody in time.

I tried to focus on the problem at hand and not dwell on Melody's fear as her humanity was savagely ripped from her by someone who didn't care whether she survived the transformation or not. "If I locate the place where he changed her, finding them will be much easier. He will not have made it very far." Anna's hot hand scalded my shoulder. I turned to face her towel clad body and saw only pain in those sapphire eyes.

"May I speak with him?" She asked. I handed her the phone, thankful that I no longer had to deal with Christian.

* * *

**Bella **

That which I'd been dreading, but needed desperately, finally overtook me-a vision of Jasper and Justin. Alice whimpered at the same time as I saw Jasper, Justin, and David surrounded by Army Reserves. David-in his newborn haste-attacked, while, Jasper and Justin hesitated. I can only imagine that it was due to the fact that they were dealing with humans, but that honorable act cost them dearly. Four men moved forward stealthily. They had dangerous predator written all over them. They were human, of that I was certain, but they did not move like the rest of the soldiers and they didn't have that same fearful look in their eyes as they sprung into action. David, though stronger than Jasper, was not experienced at fighting and was brought down almost immediately.

My hands clutched someone as fear overwhelmed me. I screamed as Justin tried to save Jasper who was now on the ground under the weight of two of the men. It made no sense. How could two humans take Jasper down? Justin electrocuted the man he was struggling with, but the man did not release him. The rest of the soldiers overwhelmed them and my vision ended.

Alice erupted into hysterics while I tried to make sense of the scene we'd just witnessed.

"We have to help them. It hasn't happened yet. We can save them," she shrieked.

"Alice, we have no idea where they are. To track them will take time. More time than they have." I shook my head and swallowed past the lump of fear lodged in my throat. "There's nothing we can do right now," I whispered.

Alice moved in a blur and grabbed me by my throat and shoved me against the wall. I heard the sound of plaster cracking. "Jasper is in trouble," she hissed.

"And we were given a job to do, which is almost complete," I reminded her.

Her eyes darkened in anger. "I don't care about Aro's assignment," she snapped, her fingers convulsing around my throat. "Aro can go fuck himself. We are going to save Jasper."

The others in the room were whispering back and forth debating whether to intervene or not. My eyes met Felix as he struggled against Ben who was apparently keeping him from harming Alice. My voice swam through their minds. "_It's okay. She won't hurt me,"_ I soothed. As though she really could. No matter how angry Alice was, she was not the stronger vampire.

"We only have to deal with the doctor, Alice. Please, be reasonable. We cannot fail to complete this. The safety of our race depends upon us completing this mission."

Her hand slid away from me as she took two steps back, a look of utter disgust carved into her gorgeous face. "They were all right about you. Volterra has changed you…warped you."

The sting of her words was physical.

"How can you stand there willing to risk my Jasper…your Justin, just to complete Aro's errand?"

"Because I am looking at the big picture and you are not. This is about the entire race of vampires, not just our family. Let me visit the doctor tonight, then we'll track Jasper and Justin."

I barely completed that thought before another sight consumed me-Alyria's exquisite Melody in a cell with a man towering over her, a cattle-prod in his hand. Her mocha body convulsed as he laughed. He knelt down and whispered in her ear. Since the electric current still causing spasms, she was helpless to protect herself. He pulled her face to his, one hand groping her now exposed breast before he brought his lips roughly down on hers.

I glanced at Alice. "Did you see that?" She shook her head and I quickly explained.

"How did this happen? What would Melody be doing here?"

Alice sighed, her anger at me subsiding slightly. "I don't know, but you'd better call Alyria or Christian and break the bad news to them."

Of all the scary and intimidating things that I'd experienced today, the prospect of calling Christian was by far the worse.

* * *

**Washington**

**Kayden**

There was an excited buzz sweeping the room as we were notified of the capture of not one, but three, vampires. Dr. Anderson led us to the elevator and selected the lowest floor.

The doors split open and my feet seemed to propel me forward of their own accord, my eyes locked to the three men in separate cages, the bodies of three women discarded on the floor, a small amount of blood still seeping from their slit wrists and the wound at their throats.

"Ah, perfect. So, they have finally given in to their thirst," he noted. He turned his attention to us. "Their bodies have proven impervious to our equipment, so we had to devise another way of introducing drugs into their system to keep them docile." He peered into the first cell at the nearly comatose blond whose clothes had all been removed and had many imprints of, what looked like, human teeth. "Two of them refused the women, so we slit their wrists. Once the smell of fresh blood hit them, I knew it would only be a matter of time."

He continued past the cell and stopped at the last one. "Let's get this one on the table, shall we, and let the discoveries begin." The doctor was giddy at the prospect. Giddy was not what I was feeling and as my eyes met Kinly's, I knew it wasn't what he was feeling either. The desire to slice and maim was in his gaze. All he cared about was causing the greatest amount of suffering.

The vampire was on the table. "Kinly, why don't we see what you can do with him?" Dr. Anderson suggested.

Kinly strode forward, and in a gesture almost too fast to notice, slipped his knife out of its sheath and tried to plunge it deep within it's abdomen, but it didn't so much as leave a mark. It did, however, cause the blade to break. Kinly swore as his favorite knife was rendered useless and un-holstered his gun.

"Control your self, Kinly," Dr. Anderson cautioned. "We do not want it dead…yet."

He shrugged off the doctor's words, pointed the gun at the vampire's head, and emptied a clip into it. Kinly's scream of frustration echoed through the room. There wasn't any evidence that he had fired his weapon a point blank range, except for the acrid smell of the gunpowder.

The vampire suddenly sprinted into action and before I knew it two of our soldiers were dead.

My heart thundered in my chest and I broke out in a cold sweat as I forced myself to move back from the chaos and hunker down between a desk and a cabinet.

"Close down the facility," someone screamed out. I heard the alarms go off as the reinforced doors sealed us in with the rabid vampire.

Sergeant Lee and two others moved forward and were fighting him, but even drugged, they seemed to be unable to subdue him. Sergeant Lee transformed into a wolf after the vampire had slashed through his chest and snarled before pouncing on it. I heard the sound of flesh being rendered and peeked my head around the cabinet to see who had gotten the upper hand.

The wolf's teeth tore through the vampire's flesh where nothing else would. The other two also transformed, and managed to get him back into his cell where the doctor already had another human woman drugged and waiting.

* * *

**Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them. Reviews gets you another post! It's evil and unfair, but such is life.**

**Thanks!**

**Sabrina**


	6. Chapter 6 What Am I Becoming?

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Aww, thanks guys for all your lovely reviews. It snowed like crazy here today so I got out of school which gave me tons of time to ignore my homework and write up a post for you. Hope you like it. I promise some happy moments will come. Just not in this post.**

**Chapter Six What am I becoming?**

**Two days ago**

**Edward (Edward's time line differs a bit from the others. He's two days behind Bella in this portion. Next time you see a post from his POV he will be in real time. Hopefully that's not too confusing.)**

Gaston's scent was overpowering. We were almost out of West Virginia now. We'd run right into the middle of a blizzard and Anna was suffering terribly, though I had to give her credit-she had not once complained.

The mountains and trees surrounded us. I had a fire going and Anna was warming her frozen hands above the flames while I followed the trail. I couldn't have been more than a quarter of a mile away from her when I heard her scream. I raced back and slammed into him. All through the fight, I tried to ascertain where Melody was, but her scent was no where to be found.

He'd attacked Anna who was now lying on the snow, staining it red with her blood. His hand slashed at me and I whirled around, my foot landing a solid hit to his sternum. He smashed into the rocky cliff causing many of the rocks to cascade down.

We continued this way. I would read his next plan of attack and thwart him and he would try another approach. He was a highly skilled fighter otherwise I would have destroyed him already, as it was, it took more time than Anna had. I tossed the last of him into the flames and hurried to her side as her breath began to fade.

I hit speaker phone and began CPR. "Alyria," I interrupted as soon as she answered. "Anna is dying. The nearest hospital is too far away," I explained while I kept pushing against her chest, kept breathing into her mouth.

"Dying?" she screamed.

"Gaston attacked. He's dead now," I added before I breathed for Anna again.

"Bite her," she whispered.

"What?"

"Transform her, Edward. You promised me you would keep her safe. Now, she's dying and I say change her." Her voice filled with power as she ordered me to do what I never wanted to do again: steal someone's soul.

"I cannot. I will not doom her to a soulless existence."

"It is a fate that she has been waiting for. We promised all of them…Please, do not let her die because of your morals."

I breathed into her again, her heart was failing. If I didn't bite her soon all would be lost. I just couldn't make myself do it. The loathing I'd felt that day I'd transformed Bella. It was something I never wanted to experience again. But could I live with the guilt of watching Anna die in my arms? It was what she wanted. The three blood donors had already decided that they would join Alyria's coven as vampires. She had already started with Viktor. Gaston had changed Melody. Anna was the only one left.

"Edward!" Alyria and Kattra both screamed at me.

"I'll do it," I bit out.

I didn't give myself time to think, I just let my teeth slice through her tender skin and let as much of my venom flow into her. I sat back in the snow and wiped her blood from my lips. Human blood had no power over me anymore. I barely even noticed it sliding down my throat or the delicious smell of it. It was nothing compared to the struggle I met when I'd transformed Bella. Every swallow made me crave more. So much more that I feared I would be unable to stop, that Carlisle would have to rescue her from me.

"It has begun," I murmured into the phone before closing it. They did not need to listen to her scream. That pain was my burden to bear. I was, after all, the cause of her anguish.

* * *

**Bella **

Everything was ready. I just had to meet with David's doctor and take care of a few loose ends and then we'd start hunting the soldiers who'd taken our family. The only thing left to do before I left was to call Christian. I had to inform them about Melody. That's what I kept telling myself. But deep down, I wanted to hear his voice again. If only for a few minutes. I was so lonely and would give almost anything to make it go away.

He answered before the first ring even finished. It took me several seconds to respond as I marveled at the sound of his voice. I quickly explained my vision and he filled me in on what was happening on his end.

It was Anna that had been with Edward. A great weight had been removed with that information. I should have known better than to believe that Edward was capable of hurting me the way I'd hurt him.

"Bella, you must find her. It would kill Alyria…all of us…to lose Melody. You must find that facility."

If only Demetri were here. His tracking abilities would be useful now. I, of course, held that power, but I'd never used it and wasn't sure how it worked. Still, it was worth a try. "I will. I promise you, Christian, that we will get her back," I replied confidently, despite my lack of confidence. Too many people depended on me anymore. It was just becoming too much. What I wouldn't give to just go to some deserted island and have no responsibilities, no pressure…Though, a companion on that deserted island would be nice.

"I'm coming," his voice trailed down me and had my body on fire. How I wanted to see him.

"You cannot," I breathed. As much as I wanted to see a friendly, caring face, I could not allow him near me again. "What about Viktor? His newborn strength is greater than Alyria's and Kattra's. They will need you to keep him under control," I reminded him.

"Is that really why you think I shouldn't come? Are you sure it's not a bit more personal?" His tone was full of accusation.

"I'm sure." Though, I knew it wasn't a very convincing statement. Because I was sure that the only reason I refused him was that I did not trust myself to be around him. Edward was on his way to find Melody. I had a vague idea where she was. That Edward and I would run into each other was inevitable. That would be difficult enough without Christian making matters worse.

"No you're not. I can hear the lie in your voice. You simply do not wish to see me." The pain in his words was so obvious. I wanted nothing more than to dispute him, but could not. It was better he believed that I had no interest in him. Maybe I could even make myself believe that lie as well.

"I do…and I don't," I finally admitted quietly. So much for my great plan. The words spilling from my mouth seemed unreceptive to my minds editing. Apparently my heart was controlling my mouth instead of my brain.

"What precisely does that mean?"

I explained that this search would eventually lead me to Edward and how his presence there would only make things worse. "Really, Christian, what do you think he would do to you if he saw you with me again?"

He laughed. "I can imagine. He has already promised we would settle things once he returns with our blood donors."

I stopped breathing. He was so blasé about it. I, on the other hand, was apprehensive. The prospect of the two men that I cared for fighting didn't sit well with me. "What do you mean? You two are…" I trailed off not wanting to say it out loud lest it made it a reality. "Edward threatened you?"

"Do not fret about it, love. I knew the risks when I watched you walk through my door that night. Have no doubt, it was well worth it."

Had it been? No, of that I was now certain. I'd pushed Edward away. Maybe for good. I know he kept reminding me that it was only temporary, but it didn't feel temporary. No, sex with Christian had been wonderful…more than wonderful, but the cost had been far too high. I would not make that mistake a second time.

* * *

The others had gone hunting while I dealt with the doctor. I'd just have to feed later. Alice was still put out with me. The others kept their opinions to themselves, but I saw the accusation in Santiago's and Mia's eyes. They'd been separated for hundreds of years and sympathized with Alice at the loss of her mate. I knew Felix was firmly on my side. Ben was a complete mystery to me. He didn't seem to have an opinion on the matter.

The sound of a pen brought me back to my task and I watched as the doctor filled in another line. Dr. Fulmer was adding the new statements to David's file. I used Blain's power to alter reality to make him believe that all of it was true, but as soon as I left the power would recede, and he would once again be aware of the truth.

Venom began to flow in my mouth. His continued existence would be problematic. And if he had to die then I might as well feed. I was bombarded with the memories of Tyler, Justin, and the countless other humans that they had brought me after the war to revive me. I shuddered with the need to taste human blood again. God, what was I becoming?

The doctor set his pen down and I read the new file over. Everything was in order.

"Please make a copy of this and forward it to the detectives."

"He did as I asked. I waited patiently for him to return from the mailbox. Now the police would have access to the medical files and the notion of vampires would slowly fade away as long as we didn't draw attention to ourselves. I stowed the original files in my bag and watched him close the door.

I let my predatory instincts take over and moved stealthily across the floor taking the aged man into my arms. On his desk was a picture of his deceased wife. I altered our reality so that he believed that I was her, and that he would feel no pain-only pleasure-from my bite. My lips trembled over his neck, my mouth was practically over flowing with venom when I finally struck.

I basked in the euphoria that was his blood and drank it down greedily all the while he moaned in delight, his arms wound around my waist. His heart finally silenced and I let him fall to the floor.

I caught sight of my crimson eyes in the silver mirror and wondered yet again what I had become. I scooped up his body and carried him to his private bathroom which also had a bathtub and placed his body in there. Didn't want to burn down the whole building, after all. A ball of flame appeared in my hand. I watched it as it sailed from my palm to his body and engulfed him in a whoosh, his whole body nothing more than a pile of ashes within seconds of touching him. I cleaned up the evidence and headed back to the hotel.

Felix met me out front. "The others already took off," he informed me. "Alice was leaving one way or the other, so I figured it would be safer if she had the protection of our vampires," he explained.

I wasn't really surprised, but I was concerned. If they were ambushed would they stand a chance? Even as a group I wasn't sure. Had he just sent them to their deaths?

When I didn't answer he continued, "I need to hunt." He looked like he was going to say something else. He was peering intently at my eyes and I couldn't stop myself from looking away. He knew that I had killed a human. Not only had I failed the Cullens in their vegetarian ways, but I'd completely disregarded Aro's edict not to consume human blood. I nodded to Felix and entered my room. At least he wasn't giving me a hard time about my dinner selection.

* * *

**Kayden**

I'd seen more than I could stomach and fled from the detention center. I gasped at the icy air filling my lungs as I tried to forget about the horrors taking place downstairs. There were several women smoking so I headed over there to bum one. I rarely smoked anymore, but the urge to do so now was overwhelming. That first drag was euphoric. I brushed the snow off of the bench and collapsed on to it heavily, the weight of my tainted soul forcing me down. For my soul was tainted. There was no doubt about that. Even if I did not personally participate in their twisted modes of torture, I also did nothing to thwart them.

The cool menthol of the cigarette filled me once more and I rested my head on the back of the bench trying to chase our captives' screams from my mind. Kinly had made it his life's mission to learn the secrets of the vampires, to know what their weaknesses were. He was a master at such things and it hadn't taken him long to discover that fire was one element that they were not impervious to.

For now, he had settled on a hot poker, but I'd already heard him request a more artful brand be rendered for his enjoyment.

"There you are, Kayden," Dr. Anderson's assistant exclaimed as she held her side, her face flushed. She looked like she'd run up ten flights of stairs rather than use the elevator.

Still gasping for breath, she managed, "You told me to inform you if a termination order had been issued." She drew out a piece of crumpled paper from her lab coat and handed to me with shaky hands.

I read it over. It looked like they were cleaning house. The three shape shifters were to be destroyed today. Though I felt terrible, I couldn't help feeling relieved that it wasn't Yasmin, the voodoo priestess, that would be slaughtered later today.

I flicked my cigarette carelessly away. For the briefest of moments courage blazed in me. I thanked her hastily and fled to the detention center.

Kinly gave his subjects no time to recover. Their screams were never ending. I peeked into the window to make sure he was utterly engulfed in his work I'm not sure exactly what it was I planned to do. They were right, releasing our detainees was unacceptable. But the thought of them dying at Kinly's masterful hand chilled me.

Kinly had the vampire who called himself Justin on the table. The enhanced soldiers were positioned around the perimeter ready to intervene if the vampire should try once again to escape. Kinly held the poker that was glowing red, against it's flesh, his stomach muscles contracting as Kinly pressed more firmly into its abdomen.

I backed away from the door, loathing my self…my weakness. Yasmin's muffled moans called to me. Kinly had had some alone time with her before his newest distractions had arrived. I figured I'd check out her condition then deal with the shape shifters. I'd already decided that I would simply administer a lethal dosage of medication and humanly put them down. It was the kindest thing I could do for them.

My fingers deftly entered the numbers into the keypad and her cell door hissed open and I was assaulted by the smell of bodily fluids mingled with blood. I reached around looking for the light switch which couldn't be to far as the cell was barely four feet by four feet. There was nothing but darkness and cold hard stone. I flicked the switch and the lights illuminated the macabre scene.

Her naked body, folded up in her own filth, still took up nearly every inch of space. Her once perfect body was decorated in purplish bruises. I knelt in front of her and touched her cheek softly. A shiver coursed through her and she whimpered, tears spilling out from under her blindfold to trail down those sculpted cheekbones.

"Shh," I soothed and began untying the blindfold. Her eyes, wide with fear and pain, were two different colors. One was a pale green and the other an opaque blue. I'd never seen anything more beautiful than the poor broken woman in front of me. "I won't hurt you, you have my word."

She nodded, somehow regaining some of her composure.

All of her nearly floor length hair had been shaved off and a burn in the shape of Kinly's ring was branded on the back of her scalp. Nearly a whole minute passed while I tried to keep myself from vomiting, before I could move a muscle to help her. This was all my fault. I'd known that Kinly was with her. If only I'd been a better man, a braver man, then she would not be in this state.

I began inspecting the rest of her. There were small lacerations which were still bleeding so I went to work cleaning them and bandaging her up. I had to remove the shackles binding her ankles and wrists, but she made no move to escape or harm me in any way shape or form. All she did was tear the tape off of her mouth and withdrew her wadded up panties from her mouth that Kinly must have used as a gag.

Somehow, I had to get this woman out of the facility. She would be lucky to survive another day under Kinly's care.

As I worked my way down her body, I noticed the blood that stained her thighs and knew without a doubt that Kinly had not only raped her, but brutally so. Rage consumed me as I began wiping her fluids from her shapely thighs. It wasn't until she wiped my tears away that I realized that I'd been crying.

"I will find a way to get you out of here," I whispered hoarsely. "I'm going to get you something to eat, but I will be back. Okay?" Again, she nodded, but did not speak

* * *

**Kinly**

The screams serenaded me. I loved the different pitches each of my masterful strokes elicited. I no longer saw the body in front of me; all I was aware of was the power surging through me.

Power. It was all I'd craved as far back as I could remember. I'd been taught the refined techniques of torture from a very young age at the hands of my father. He'd shaped and molded me into a machine. So proud he'd been of his creation…until I realized that he could not control me. That all that he'd taught me could be used against him. That all I had to do to be free was to kill him. And so I had.

Glorious was not a strong enough word to describe what I'd felt as I watched him bleed, heard his screams, his pathetic pleas.

Each new victim was my father's final moments over and over again. The only time I really felt anything was when I tasted someone's fear, smelled their blood, took away their dignity and finally broke them.

The vampire on the table before me was all I could have ever dreamed of. No matter how long I worked on him he kept healing and we would begin again. I could spend the rest of my life like that.

I removed a long narrow metal stake from the fire, humming the song my father used to play on his record player, and contemplated the best place to insert the stake. Already, the vampire was riddled with the metal stakes, it's own flesh healing and closing around the metal. As I slid it into the flesh on his inner thigh, I felt a burn rip through my own. My hand fell from the stake and I rubbed my own thigh, but the feeling did not dissipate.

Pain was something I was used to. I closed that part of me off and walked back to the fire and grabbed the next stake, slowly walking back to the table as the monster in front of me convulsed. It reeked of fear. Shameful. I could have taken more pain than this and done so with a lot more panache.

As I shoved the stake into him, my body responded as though I'd impaled myself. "Yasmin," I hissed under my breath.

I grabbed the vampire's chin. "You wait right here, my friend. We will continue our activities shortly," I smiled serenely. Despite the flames eating at my own flesh, I was so calm. In fact, this was the happiest I could ever recall being. Not even my own father's death had brought me such joy.

I remembered the four soldiers that were there to keep the vampire in line. Somehow during all my fun I'd forgotten that I wasn't alone. "Make sure he fucking stays right there," I ordered then removed several more stakes from the flame and walked methodically towards Yasmin's cell. That bitch would regret fucking with me. Though, I was puzzled as to how she could talk enough to curse me. I'd left her trussed like an animal.

Her door opened and I could hear her deep chants. "Shut the fuck up, you fucking witch!" I grabbed at her, but she managed to slip past my grasp and laded a well placed kick to my groin. My laughter rang out and her chanting faltered. I pushed her against the wall, one of the stakes sliding into her stomach. "Bleed for me, bitch." I positioned another one and hissed, "Die for me." But as I pressed it against her I heard a commotion outside the room. I punched her once and she hit the floor, knocked out cold and went to see what all the excitement was about.

* * *

**A/N: Okies, not where I was planning on ending it but 13 pages seemed like enough for today. Share your thoughts, please. I like hearing 'em! I'm not going to ask for a certain amount of comments because you guys are too fast. I met my quota that same day and I was nowhere near ready to post this part! **

**Thanks**

**Sabrina**


	7. Chapter 7 Soul Searching

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Goodness, I'm so sorry for the delay. I have just been overwhelmed by school. I decided to use my Super Bowl time wisely and wrote this instead. This one doesn't shift perspectives, it's all Bella. And Edward's timeline has finally caught up to Bella's. Thanks for all the reviews!**

**Chapter Seven Soul Searching**

**Bella **

I paced restlessly around the room while I waited for Felix to return. Being alone with my thoughts was not a good thing. All my mistakes were haunting me. The doctor more so than all the others. Had his death really been necessary or had I just wanted an excuse to feed on human blood again? I sighed and stared sightlessly at the TV that had been left on. Lately, my thoughts returned time and time again back to blood. Even when I was sated I still yearned for the rush of human blood. Gorging on all of those humans after the battle had set off this little fixation, but with each drink of animal blood it slowly became something more. Almost an addiction.

So lost in my thoughts I was that I failed to notice my visitor until his pale arms snaked around my waist and his perfect lips whispered so softly in my ear. His scent washed away the yearning for blood and brought with it unbridled desire. My whole body reacted to the feel of his chest pressed tightly against my back.

"Have you any idea the hell I've been through the last two weeks?" His hot breath caused me to shiver. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

I knew exactly how hard things had been for him because they'd been equally difficult for me. "If your two weeks have been anything like mine, then yeah…I think I do." I leaned back against him, my head resting on his shoulder and felt the tension rush out of me for the first time since I'd slept with Christian. Everything would be okay. I was back in his arms again and all was right with the world. "What are you doing here? I thought you were tracking Melody?"

He inhaled deeply and pressed lips that I'd only been able to fantasize about, against my throat. "I was…there's been a change of plans. At least for the foreseeable future."

I steeled myself to finally set my gaze on the being I wanted to see more than all others. Slowly, I spun in his arms, my eyes downcast almost afraid to let him see the brilliant crimson that colored mine. At this rate they'd never be the trademark honey of the Cullens.

His t-shirt was tattered and filthy and my fingers explored the many tears in the thin material. I finally raised my eyes the rest of the way and quit breathing momentarily as I was once again dazzled by his brilliance.

After what seemed minutes, I licked my trembling lip and blinked my eyes to get a respite from his overwhelming form. "You look terrible," I commented slowly as I feathered my index finger over the dark circles under his nearly black eyes. It'd been a long time since last he fed. I wondered why he'd let himself go so long especially since he had a human tagging along with him. Speaking of which… "Where's Anna?" I hated that my jealousy sounded through even though I'd been trying for nonchalance.

He chuckled. I wasn't sure if it was because he could tell I was envious or some other reason. "You haven't seen me in two weeks and the first thing out of your mouth is I look terrible?" His gaze seemed to drink every inch of me in and I felt little sparks of electricity where our bodies touched. "You, love, look heavenly," he paused examining my red eyes. "Even with these ruby orbs." He laid a gentle kiss over both of my eyelids then pulled me against him with such force. "I have missed you so much, Bella. So much. These past weeks have been the most difficult of my life. Utterly unbearable."

I could feel his body shaking with sobs. As often as I'd imagined our reunion, I never pictured it like this. Almost amicable. There was no thread of anger in him. The hate and disappointment that I'd last seen in his eyes were nonexistent. Anger flared in me. I wanted to be yelled at. I deserved his anger. It should be me reduced to tears, not him.

His broken voice brought me back, "I cannot linger here long, love. I had to do something…well, I need to get back to Anna." He pulled completely out of my grasp and led me to the bed. He seemed to be searching for the right words. Fear engulfed me. I couldn't handle one more thing. I'd been pushed so far past my limit and I knew that one more piece of bad news was going to be my undoing.

I decided to head him off. There would be time later to hear him out. If he was planning on leaving me, I certainly didn't want to know about it right now. I had a military facility to break into shortly and vampires to rescue. "We found Melody," I blurted out.

Edward's eyes nearly bugged out of his perfect head. His reaction was almost comical. I'd effectively accomplished what I'd wanted. The serious discussion that he'd been preparing himself for had dissipated with my announcement.

"What? Where?" He spluttered almost looking like a fish out of water.

"I'm not sure on the entire story yet, but I had a vision. She was taken to some military facility…" I hesitated to tell him the truly bad part, but I couldn't hide it from him. "Jasper and Justin have also been taken."

He was on his feet before the last word escaped my lips. "Then why are you here?" He yelled.

I instinctively flinched back even as I basked in his fury. These were the emotions I was supposed to be greeted with. His wrath pored over me and it felt so right. "It's a long story," I mumbled. "As soon as Felix gets back from hunting we're setting off to find Alice."

"How could you let her go alone?"

"She's not alone. Our whole team, with the exception on me and Felix, is with her."

He glanced quickly at the digital clock on the bedside table. "I have to get back to Anna. The morphine I gave her is going to wear off soon. I shouldn't have left her unattended, but to be so close to you…" he trailed off and I met his sad gaze with a very confused one. Nothing he'd said made sense.

"You know, I haven't a clue what you're going on about. Is Anna hurt?"

He looked away and spoke in a low murmur. "She's on her third day of her transformation."

I gasped. Christian hadn't mentioned any of this to me. Had he even known? And did it mean that Edward had been the one to change her? My mind reeled as all those thoughts assaulted me.

He studied my reaction closely before explaining, "I had no choice. She was dying."

"You? You transformed her?" Why the thought was so repugnant baffled me. I'd transformed Justin. Edward hadn't been too pleased about it, but hadn't really given me too hard of a time. But it was exactly because of my experience with Justin that I was irked about Anna. Justin and I had an undeniable connection. Not sexually, but we were close. I felt very protective of him and comfortable. I just didn't want my Edward to have that with some other woman.

"As I said, she was dying. Would you truly rather I let her die instead of change her?" His face hardened and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "What do you think her death would have done to Alyria? To Christian?" He seethed as he mentioned that name.

I chose to ignore the whole Christian thing. It would serve no purpose. He was just trying to remind me that I had no right to be pissed at him for the things he'd done, when I'd done far worse.

"So just like that…you transformed her? No agonizing over her soul?" It was a jagged little pill to swallow. He'd been so obstinate about transforming me. Even as I lay bloodied on the ballet studio floor, James's venom seeping through my veins, he hadn't given in and let nature run its course. Nope. He'd sucked the venom out of me leaving me human for another year; all because he feared for my immortal soul. And what he'd withheld from me for so many agonizing months, he'd given to her so readily.

He sighed and sank back onto the bed. "Not just like that. I had reservations, of course. But Alyria and Kattra were begging me… and Anna was bleeding out in my arms. I did what I had to do…the only thing I could do to alleviate my guilt for failing to protect her."

Felix strode through the door and came to an abrupt halt as soon as he saw Edward. "Edward!" He glanced between the two of us. "What brings you here? Are you joining our team?"

"I'm afraid not," he replied in his velvety voice that still caused my body to smolder. "It seems that my errand has intersected yours." He turned back to me. "I have to stay with Anna. She will require my constant attention as soon as she awakens. I have a favor to ask." I nodded and he went on. "That you will make certain that Melody makes it back to Alyria."

I was insulted. Did he truly think that I'd go in there and rescue everyone yet leave Melody behind? "That goes without saying," I snapped. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Good. Felix?" I turned away from my husband suddenly furious with him. "We all set?" He nodded solemnly.

"I will await you outside. Edward," he acknowledged before all but sprinting out the door.

"I did not mean to upset you. I…I know that Melody will be safe in your hands. As I can no longer fulfill my obligation…" he stammered looking extremely uncomfortable. What I wouldn't give for the early days of our relationship. A time when we were completely in sync and at ease with each other. I was beginning to doubt we'd ever get back to that. "You're the only person I trust to get her back to her coven," he finally finished.

I was back in his arms in one swift movement, the irritation I'd felt moments ago had washed away as the declaration I thought I'd never hear practically sang in my ears. Despite all I'd done to him, he still trusted me. It meant more to me than all the _'I love yous'_ in the world. I never doubted that he truly loved me, but I'd been terrified that he would never be able to fully trust me again. And how can you have a solid relationship without trust?

My lips fell on his hungrily. The taste of him was sweeter than I remembered and a low growl escaped as my hands toyed with his disheveled hair.

He met my kiss with the same ferocity which only urged me on. We had no time for this, but I couldn't make my hands stop their descent down his chiseled chest and lower still.

He broke away, panting heavily and leaned his forehead against mine. "Wait. Stop." He gave a sharp shake of his head. "I want you…know that I do, Bella. More than anything. But we need to take things slow."

I ignored his words and brought my mouth back to his. I would never tire of the sensation of his lips moving sensuously against mine. He might have had some reservations, but he was still kissing me back.

He murmured into my mouth. "Not to mention that you have another pressing engagement." But his lips hadn't left mine; his hands now cupped my ass molding me against him so I could feel every inch of his arousal.

He was right, I knew it, but I didn't have to like it. What if something horrible happened to my team while I was in here making out like some teenager? I forced myself to end the kiss and instantly missed the feel of him as I took a couple steps back. "Fine. Slow. I can do slow," I muttered in a voice thick with lust. "And you're right. This is neither the time nor the place. I have to find Alice."

He closed the distance and hugged me tightly against him. "You are everything to me." He pressed his lips against mine briefly. "I love you." And with a swipe of his finger tenderly against my cheek he was gone and I went out and joined Felix in the woods.

* * *

"That was unexpected." Felix mused as we ran through the woods somehow avoiding all of the branches and roots that, as a human, would have tripped me up.

"Indeed."

"Who's Anna and why does he have to pay such close attention to her?"

"One of Alyria's blood donors...uh…please don't mention that to Aro," I pleaded.

He shrugged his shoulders. "He most likely already knows. He's bound to have read it from someone while you were all at Volterra. I doubt he will care too greatly as they are close friends of yours. You have him wrapped tightly around your divine little finger." We paused as the scent weakened and moved separately trying to find which way they'd turned. "I know who she is now, but why is your Edward catering to her so?"

"He transformed her," I admitted.

"Bella," he groaned which then turned into an odd laugh. "Aro's mandates hold no sway over you Cullens, do they?"

I quirked my brow at him and waited for him to explain.

"You do remember the part where Aro decreed that no new vampires were to be made? It is too dangerous for a newborn to be running around. We've only just begun to sow the seeds of doubt in regards to this David fiasco. A newborn will draw unnecessary attention to our species."

"She was dying-"

"Irrelevant." He moved further left, his nostrils flared as he scented the air. "This way, I believe. Now," he continued as we picked up our pace. "Aro also made that little stipulation that no vampire was to feed on human blood. Gauging from the concentrated color of your eyes, I'd say that you flagrantly ignored that rule too."

"The doctor would have refuted his own report once he was free of my power. He had to die. Waste not want not, you know?"

He chuckled. "You amuse me, Bella. You are nothing like the rest of those stuffy Cullens."

He didn't have to tell me. I knew I'd failed miserably at being a Cullen.

We ran in silence. I checked the future now and then only to be accosted by disturbing images of torture. I closed off the feelings that the sight of Justin's once perfect body now riddled with metal stakes stirred in me. Never mind the fact that I was clueless as to how they'd even managed that feat. Our skin was damn near impenetrable.

Felix slowed. We'd crossed the trail of the soldiers and their distinct odor was masking our vampires making tracking Alice and co. much more difficult.

"This way," I finally pointed and we began again.

"You don't seem too messed up," Felix commented.

I gave a confused laugh. "I didn't realize I was supposed to be. I'll be sure to work on that."

"I just meant that usually after you spend time with your Edward you resemble a zombie more than a vampire."

"I'm a zombie free zone now." I sighed, lost in my thoughts. If I focused hard enough I could actually feel his lips on mine almost taste them. "It's a mess…make no mistake. But we'll work it out."

"Watching you two has made me realize how very lucky I am not to be in a relationship." We jumped over a fallen tree and he continued, "The first time I saw you both at Volterra…how he protected you, his look of horror when Jane used her powers ever so unsuccessfully against you…made me wish for something more." He chuckled darkly. But now…no. You couldn't pay me to get involved with someone to such a degree. Plenty of women to go around. No point in mucking things up with feelings."

"Okie-dokie," I laughed. "Thanks for sharing. I'll keep that in mind someday when all I have to look forward to is playing matchmaker. You are now firmly in the one-night-stand column."

Their scent suddenly engulfed us and I knew we were close. Mixed with it was one that I was unfamiliar with. We increased our speed and stopped all conversation as we spilled out of the foliage and into their camp where Santiago was questioning a female vamp. One that looked very much like the bride from the news. Rachael. At least she wasn't dead…well, not in the normal sense of the word.

Alice's feelings toward me clearly hadn't improved. She still wore a look of contempt on her pixy face. In fact, none of us were particularly happy to see each other. Ben took it upon himself to explain to us what they'd learned.

Jasper and Justin had been fighting with David. David told her to run so she did. But she'd become frightened and worried when he never caught up with her, so she turned around only to discover a group of soldiers were fighting our men. Self preservation must've kicked in because she bolted and stumbled on Alice and the rest of our team.

They were having a hard time with Rachael as she was quite feral, yet no one wanted to truly harm her. I had no such qualms.

She snapped at Santiago, who'd been questioning her for the last hour or so, her teeth sliding through his wrist like a warm knife through butter. A growl vibrated through the night. Mia, who abhorred violence, was crouched ready to attack. I sent out my calming energy and quieted the camp, but my powers had little effect on Rachael who turned her hungry eyes towards me and hissed sharply. I pushed her aura in and a small gash appeared across her pale cheek. She snarled and fought against Santiago and Felix who'd decided to lend his strength. "I can keep this up all day," I stated matter-of-factly and slashed her other cheek. "If you do not shut up and quit harming my people I will tear you apart piece by piece."

"Do it," she begged. "Do it!"

Hmmm, hadn't expected that. I engulfed her in Blain's power instead and projected the image of her feeding happily on some human. Her whimpering quieted and her body went slack as she succumbed to my alternate reality.

Alice skipped to my side, a grim smile on her face which slowly faltered. "You reek of Edward."

"He stopped by," I commented offhandedly not wanting to get into the mess that was my love life.

"That's it? You're not going to give me any details? You're punishing me, right? Because I lost my temper with you."

I groaned inwardly. Why did everything have to be so difficult? "It's not like that, Alice; we just have more important things to deal with. Like rescuing your hubby."

The light in her eyes died at the reminder of Jasper's fate. "We've found the facility and scoped it out. I think we can get in relatively easily."

"About time something went our way." I flicked my eyes towards Rachael. "What about her? We certainly can't mount some major attack and worry about her at the same time?"

"We both know what needs done, Bella."

Of course we did. That none of them had the balls to take care of it was painfully obvious. They'd restrained her so I could do the dirty work. "Indeed. Are you volunteering, because I've killed enough beings this month, don't you think?" Her face twisted in anger, a look so vicious that, if I hadn't known her better, might have alarmed me. Our earlier anger reignited as the stress of our task overwhelmed us. We were all in need of an extended vacation.

"But you're so good at it," she taunted in her sing song voice.

And I was. I'd somehow become Aro's personal hit man. The problem was, it was eating the last bits of humanity from me leaving me empty.

I contemplated my options quickly. Looking at her splendid face, I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed her in cold blood. The doctor's face flashed in my mind again. I'd become everything that Edward loathed in vampires. Somehow I needed to get free of my current life. With Edward by my side maybe I could find the real me again and cease being Aro's killing machine.

Unable to destroy Rachael, I chose a lesser evil, though having experienced it myself I knew it was only a small step up from actual death. I glided toward Rachael's unsuspecting form and used Seline's power to steal her life's energy from her. Within seconds she was no more than bones and leathery skin. Not one sound emanated from her. When I glanced up they were all looking at me in fear. "What? This way she'll live and yet she's quiet. We don't have to worry about her running amok and killing innocent humans or giving our position away. Once we're out and back in Volterra I'll restore her life and Aro can deal with her however he sees fit." Let someone else play murderer for the day, because I was done. Not to mention that in her present form she'd fit nicely in my luggage. Transporting newborns was a difficult task. I chuckled to myself. Would I have to do the same thing to Melody? Alyria would not like that. Neither would Christian.

The tension vanished and time seemed to stand still. I knew something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what. I felt something like a spider web fall over my body hindering my movement and as I glanced around I noticed everyone else had become utterly motionless. Only then did I become aware that we were completely surrounded-that we'd been surrounded for a while and somehow hadn't noticed. So many different scents filled my nose and made my venom rush like a waterfall. Human. More than twenty. And something else. Something human, yet not.

Well, now certainly wasn't the time to ponder that. My team's lives were in jeopardy. Physically we'd been bested, but I still had an arsenal of weapons available to me mentally. I was no good manipulating time like Justin could, so that was out. Instead, I used Blain's power to confuse them long enough to figure out the source of my limited mobility.


	8. Chapter 8 Retaliation

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Wow, Did I have trouble writing this scene (this is the second draft. I threw out the first eight pages). I hope it came out ok. I just wanted to move on to the Edward and Bella stuff, but this needs to be dealt with first. Let me know what you think or if you have some suggestions to improve it. This post was kinda rushed, so if there are some mistakes feel free to point them out. Thanks.**

**Chapter Eight Retaliation**

Fear gripped the men; I could taste it on my tongue like the richest chocolate though no sounds penetrated the invisible web that was laced over me. I studied the feeling of it while the men were lost in their nightmares, but since I was unable to move I wasn't learning much. There was nothing to see except the alarm on my friends' faces.

My power drained away as quickly as it had come and the soldiers crept out of the shadows silently. Odd how not one sound was made by their human feet. Even as I strained to listen, I heard no pulse, nor caught their scent. Somehow, they were masking themselves.

Two men strode through the circle. The first one would have scared the crap out of me had I been human. He was as lethal as any vampire and completely aware of his abilities. His black uniform covered most of his ebony skin but only enhanced his well defined muscles. His attention was focused solely on Santiago who stood off to my left looking more than a little concerned by this new turn of events.

The second one I was already familiar with. I'd seen him in my vision of Jasper and Justin. He was what I called the Super Soldiers. And if I had to guess, big scary guy with Santiago was one, as well, but the rest of the men surrounding us were just your run of the mill humans.

I found myself mesmerized by his cat-like movements as he stalked Felix, for that's exactly what he looked like he was doing. His tan skin caught the light perfectly as he hadn't bothered with the standard black uniform. All he had on were black pants and boots, the rest was just out there for all to ogle. And ogle I did, even as his fist lashed out in speeds no human could manage and caught Felix's nervous face across the chin. He sort of just fell over on his back, his body unable to move from the invisible net we seemed trapped in.

I must say, I was a bit miffed that they chose Felix and Santiago to make their point with. Surely they'd just seen my little display of power as I sucked the life out of Rachael, but men being men, they still assumed that the males were the bigger threat. Not that I really wanted my face smashed in or anything, but it was still insulting. Perhaps, I'd spent too much time in Volterra. I was becoming as egotistical as Aro and his ilk.

A radio crackled. "We've located six more, sir, and are detaining them even as we speak."

The one behind me stepped forward and jabbed me in the back. I gasped in surprise at the jolt of electricity that dropped me to my knees. My own power responded and traveled back into the weapon and electrocuted the solider. I could hear him twitching on the ground then everything went silent.

"Son of a bitch!" Someone finally cried out. I couldn't turn my head to see what had happened or who was talking, but I knew they were coming for me. I was getting my wish. Still, better they torture me than any of my team. Pain I could bear. As long as I was the one feeling the pain. But it would kill me to have to watch my friends suffer.

Strong hands seized my neck and pulled me to my feet. "You fucking killed him, bitch," he snarled.

"Release her, Private Reynolds."

The hands suffocating me were suddenly gone and as I tried to catch my breath he landed a hard blow to my abdomen that sucked the few breaths I'd just managed to heave in right out of me as I crumpled back to the ground.

"Maybe it was faulty. Dr. Anderson was very certain that Seamus's spell would hinder all their powers, so quit pissing her off unless you think your man enough to subdue her without our aid," he taunted.

A spell? That would explain things. I watched his black military boots enter my narrow field of vision as I was still on my knees trying to relearn how to breathe. He pressed the cattle prod against my hand, but nothing happened. My own powers had completely fried the cursed weapon. Clearly, they knew our weaknesses. It was one of the few human weapons that could cause us harm. That and fire.

He held out his hand, but I still couldn't move to take it. "I'm trying to be civilized; I certainly don't have to be. This can be as easy or difficult as you'd like," he stated in a smooth, almost pleasant, voice.

"I'm all for civilized," I muttered, barely able to move my mouth. "But I can't move."

"Ah." He brought the radio to his lips and barked out some orders. Within a minute the webbing that still coated me loosened enough for me to move and I took his outstretched hand.

_Should I resist or allow them to bring us in?_

Santiago grunted as the dark soldier handled him roughly. It killed me to watch him hurt Santiago, but I was hesitant to reveal all that I could do. Moments after using Blain's power, whoever had been casting the spell had tweaked it enough to render it useless. I so did not want to end up in the facility without and tricks up my sleeve, so I stood by and watched the soldier rough up my friend.

My voice breathed through my teams' minds. "Allow them to capture you. May as well be escorted in."

* * *

**Edward**

Her scent still clung to me making concentration on the woman in front of me next to impossible. The feel of Bella in my arms again, her hair so silky, her tormented eyes distracted me from everything else. I kept seeing her begging me to be angry with her. I was, but she didn't need to know to what extent.

The first few days I'd even begun to doubt whether I could get past it and forgive her. My love for her hadn't lessened, which made her betrayal hurt all the more, but I couldn't get past that little part of me that hated her. I feared love was not enough.

Now, I knew differently. Seeing her again made everything vividly clear. No matter what she'd done, there was no way that I could exist without her. I would just somehow have to learn to deal with the fact that somewhere deep down my wife loved another man. And knowing Bella, probably always would.

Anna, who'd remained almost silent through the whole transformation, finally gasped and I noted the increase in her heart rate. Not much longer now. I stroked her blond hair out of her face and smoothed out the creases of pain etched into her forehead while whispering nonsense to reassure her.

I'd never seen a more effortless transformation. Aside from the screams of pain that first night, she'd remained peaceful. We'd spent the first night in the woods because I didn't want to draw attention to us, but as soon as the initial fire burning through her passed she was quiet enough to travel with. I continued to track Melody which had led me to North Carolina where I'd rented a small house out of the way of prying eyes and ears.

"Christian," she moaned. Anna was Christian's blood donor. Technically she served them all, but she belonged to Christian more than the others. Just as Viktor belonged to Alyria. A hint of satisfaction erupted in me. This was a moment he was supposed to share with Anna, and fate being the bitch she was, had given me that particular honor.

I hated that I took pleasure in this mess, but I couldn't get past my all consuming hatred for him.

Her eyes flashed open and she clutched my hand with all the power of a vampire as her heart gave its final flutter. She instantly relaxed and a small smile flitted across her mouth. "That wasn't as bad as I was expecting," she admitted, her eyes now closed. "Mmm, you smell really good. Alyria went on and on about it, but my human sense never let me smell more than your cologne."

"Are you hungry?" I asked mildly, choosing to ignore her comment about my scent and the fact that Alyria had liked it enough to mention it more than once.

Her eyes fluttered open revealing red orbs that reminded me too much of Bella. Why had Bella's eyes been so red? She'd had a few weeks without human blood, or had she?

"My throat burns a little, but it is manageable." She sat up and glanced around the tiny bedroom. "Would you mind if I called Christian?" She asked hesitantly.

I grabbed my phone of the dresser and tossed it to her before shutting the door and making my way to the living room.

The newspaper was still on the table where I'd left it on my way back from Bella's. I gave it a cursory glance, when a headline caught my eye. Seven murders in one week in Jacksonville. No one was calling it the work of a serial killer yet. I'd have to call Bella and warn her. Perhaps, it was time Bella and Renee spent some mother daughter time together. No, it would never work. Renee wasn't like Charlie. Renee learning about the existence of vampires would be a very bad thing and there's no way she wouldn't notice all the changes to Bella's features, not to mention her voice.

Anna came out and handed me the phone. "You want to hunt?" I asked. She nodded.

* * *

**Bella**

My escort moved silently in front of me down the dreary hallway. The witch - or would that be warlock or mage - joined us just as we made it through the first set of security gates. He was covered in animal blood. Deer blood to be exact. God knew I'd tasted and smelled enough of it to recognize it. He was the one that had to die before anyone else. Without him, those humans, superhuman or otherwise, stood no chance.

A door to my right swung open and the smell of bodily fluids assaulted me as an enormous man filled the entire doorway. "More of 'em to fuck with. This fucking day just keeps getting better and better. Where you taking them?" He asked.

"We were told to put them with the others, Kinly. We weren't expecting this many and we don't have another goddamn place strong enough to contain them."

"Need some help?" He questioned as his dark eyes raked over my body. "I'd be happy to take this bitch off your hands for a little while," he offered and shifted toward me. More than anything, I did not want that man to touch me. I could taste his corruption on my tongue like some rancid food. I cringed away, which only seemed to amuse and please him, but as I did so, I saw the small woman pressed against the far side of the room her eyes closed, but not dead. Her chest lifted and fell with each breath and her heart pounded out a slow rhythm.

Anger licked through me when her eyes fluttered open, a look of surprise in them, and she silently begged me to do something. I'd wanted to get to Jasper and Justin before I revealed my powers, but in that instant all logical thought vanished and I reacted purely out of instinct and hate. Hatred of the humans that could treat others in such a vile way. They called us monsters and soulless, but what had been done to her was so much worse than anything we'd done.

I concentrated on the male sorcerer's heart and shoved my power into it. I knew the instant that his aura sliced through it because the net that had engulfed us had disappeared before he'd even hit the ground.

The woman's eyes widened as though she knew I'd done something and still the others were unaware that their comrade was silently bleeding out at the back of the line.

I opened my mind to my team. "_The spell is broken; it's time to show these fine gentlemen how much of a monster we are_."

I heard the thud of his body as it hit the stones and all at once Kinly, and my Super Soldier eye candy in front, reacted. As soon as they touched me I electrocuted them. The big guy went down hard but the other one kept fighting me.

Alice had already torn the jugular out of the soldier closest to her and was wading her way to me. The woman in her cell began a low chant and I realized that she was a witch, that they'd somehow harnessed her powers. It all clicked into place. The Super Soldier that was putting up as good of fight as anyone I'd encountered had been genetically altered. That's why the wanted us. I kept likening him to a cat. I knew that somewhere in this facility I'd find a shape shifter, one who's other form was a great cat. Hopefully it would still be alive, but it wasn't high on my to-do list at the moment.

Mia's deep voice cried out as my mouth clamped around my opponents wrist. He swore and punched me in the face repeatedly until I let him go. My venom was already burning through him. The last thing I wanted was for him to mutate into something more. Fire appeared out of my palms and encompassed his whole frame just as the big guy on the floor rammed into me and tackled me to the floor.

"You put up a good fight, bitch," he hissed against my ear, his fetid breath hot against my face. Alice ripped him from me before I could comment and I ran to the woman in her small cell.

"I'm Bella," I said hurriedly as I broke her shackles. "We're going to get you out of here." I helped her to her feet trying to ignore her nakedness as she stumbled against me, too weak to stand on her own. I wrapped my arm around her waist, careful of the stake embedded within her abdomen, and she draped her arm around my shoulder to steady herself while I dragged her down the hall away from the fray.

"I am Yasmin," she gasped out as one of her many wounds rubbed against me.

"How long have you been here?" I asked mainly to keep her mind off of the pain of her injuries.

She gave a scornful laugh. "A few days. They came to my house in the middle of the night and hurt my husband. Said if I did not come with them, they would kill him."

I nodded, barely listening to her. If she looked this bad in a few short days here, what would I find when I found my vampires?

I could smell Justin behind the next door and knew what I was about to find. I'd already seen enough in my vision, but I still wasn't prepared as I took in his naked form sprawled out on the table looking like a pin cushion. There were more guards in here, but only one enhanced one.

"What the fuck?" He swore loudly as he pulled a long metal stake out of the fire, he flung it, not at me, but the woman slightly to my right, and I threw myself in front of her, the stake slicing effortlessly through my stomach and grinding against my spine ripping a pained grunt from me.

At the same time, I pushed all their auras into them, not killing them, but weakening them to the point that they wouldn't be able to aid the enhanced soldier who was bearing down on me with another cattle prod, of all things. Apparently he hadn't received the memo that that particular weapon was pretty useless against me.

I leaped across the room, the soldier never taking his predatory gaze off of me despite the fact that the human woman was now unprotected, while I quickly undid one of Justin's wrist restraints. She was chanting again, and the man looked confused which gave me enough time to free Justin before he shook off whatever she'd done to him. I saw her sway and slide down the doorframe, too weak from her earlier abuse, then he pushed the cattle prod into my throat as my nails severed his neck. The jolt of my power meeting the electrical current in the weapon threw me against the wall, but otherwise caused no harm.

I stared at the blood on my hands for a moment fighting the urge to lick it clean, to kill every human in there and feast on their blood. As I brought my finger to my lips Justin let out a string of expletives.

He tried to get off of the table, but only managed to fall to the floor. "Jesus, Justin," I swore as he yanked one of the metal staves out of himself with a grunt. "You look like shit."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but so do you," he replied through clenched teeth as another one came out, small pieces of his stone-like flesh noticeably, missing from each wound. I pulled my own out then grabbed two of his.

"There, all better," I announced.

"Hardly." He examined the holes in his chest.

"Don't worry, hun. They'll fill in and leave you as flawless as you were a day ago. You just need to feed." I nodded my head to the unconscious men on the floor. Yes, a partner in crime was just what I needed. He was weak and blood was the only thing going to bring him back to full strength. And we just happened to be surrounded by humans that had to die anyway. That's what I told myself.

"You want me to drink human blood?" His voice rose incredulously.

"Save your outrage," I snapped, as I grabbed the first one and sank my teeth deeply into his corded neck. I spoke in his mind as I fed. "If you want to get out of here, you'll feed."

As my second appetizer was carelessly thrown aside Felix snarled and attacked the woman. I barely had time to shield her before he slammed into me.

"What the hell, Felix?" I asked while trying to restrain his deadly arms that were reaching for the frightened woman. "What's gotten into you, she's with us!" I hissed as he tore a piece of my flesh away in a vain attempt to reach Yasmin. I opened my mind to see what was going on.

Ah, figures. Like we didn't have enough to worry about, he had to meet his Singer. A married Singer, at that. This was just going to go over swimmingly.

A chuckle spilled out of me as I remembered the sharks in _Finding Nemo_-Fish are friends not food. The events were quite similar.

I knocked him on his ass with some lethargy and turned to the woman who didn't look frightened enough for my taste. In fact, she seemed transfixed by him.

**Please review. Gets you posts much sooner :-)**

**Thanks**

**Sabrina**


	9. Chapter 9 The Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Hey, thanks for the reviews. I so enjoy reading what everyone thinks. This is another chapter that I kind of just threw together. I keep trying to get this darn scene over with and more stuff just keeps happening. It's like my muse is thwarting all my efforts to get Edward and Bella back together. Miss Whoniverse, are you whispering in my muse's ear? LOL! I know you don't want Ed and Bella together :P**

**Chapter Nine The Rescue**

**Kinly**

My eyes were finally open, but I could see nothing. I was immediately five years old again. My father had locked me in the cedar chest because I'd thrown up when I found my dog's butchered body.

"Suck it up, boy, and quit that fucking crying. Men don't cry. Men don't vomit like some weak ass woman." He'd grabbed me by my throat, my feet dangling off the floor and shook me violently. "Are you a fucking girl? Should I call you Kelly?" He tossed me onto the grass and I slipped in my own vomit, my hand flailing out and touching the warm blood of my best friend...my only friend. "Get up you worthless brat. Dig the hole for your fucking dog."

I still remember how terrified I'd been when he closed the lid on that chest plunging me in darkness for the next two days. Two days in my own filth, still covered with my dog's blood while he shouted insults whenever he remembered my existence.

Something hard and cold now had me pinned to the stone floor while the alarms of the facility assaulted my ears wrenching me out of my first violent memory of my father. "Mother fucking son of a bitch!" I hissed. The last thing I remembered was that brunette vamp and how good her small body had felt underneath mine.

I shoved at the debris crushing me and pushed it to the side where it crashed to the floor like a rock and pushed myself to my knees. As I tried to stand, pain rippled through my body and I realized that my clothes were plastered to my body with blood. My blood - and suddenly every injury made itself known.

I shoved that pain aside like I'd done many fucking times before; this was no different, and felt around until I found the supply room. I grabbed a flashlight and went back to observe the damage.

The bodies of my men littered the corridor and one headless body of a female vampire. That had been what was on me. I flipped her over surprised by how much she felt like stone and glanced around for her head. "At least we got one of you fuckers," I snarled and let the body thud back to the floor.

My beam of light flashed over the witch's now empty cell and raw fury filled me. Whatever it took I would get her back. She was mine in every way to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. And what I most wanted from her was her blood spilling out of her dark body, to watch the light fade from her eyes as I stole her worthless life away.

I slammed the cell door closed, a string of curses echoing off the walls. How could this fucking happen? The vampires were no doubt rescuing their brethren, but with my injuries I didn't stand a chance. Instead of going to the detention area, I made for the lab.

A shot went off by my ear when I opened the laboratory door. "Kinly," Dr. Anderson yelped in surprise while his two enhanced soldiers stood on either side of him, their weapons pointed directly at my chest.

"Think those fucking weapons are going to do you any fucking good against the renegade vampires?" I mocked, as I sealed the door closed.

Dr. Anderson was collecting the samples we'd gathered over the last year. I leaned against the counter. "Got a smoke?"

The guard closest to me tossed me his cigarettes. Not as good as a cigar, but it would do. "You can't carry all those damn samples, doc. We can always collect more from the humans; just get the fucking shape shifters' and whatever vampire DNA you collected, and lets get the fuck outta here."

"Are you insane man?" Dr. Anderson shrieked. "I have worked night and day. I'm not about to see it-"

"The vampires are going to raze this place to the ground. In a few hours you won't even be able to tell that this compound ever fucking existed. We need to get our damn asses out of here before that happens."

"Who knew you were such a pussy, Kinly," the soldier asked, his tone full of derision. He glided forward and with a flick of his wrist had my cigarette. "Those little vampires don't frighten me. Why should they? They don't have anything that I don't already have," he mocked as a trail of smoke drifted from his lips.

I wanted to tear that asshole to pieces, but I wasn't an idiot. The soldier before me had most certainly been enhanced with vampire DNA and I was no match for a skilled vampire fighter.

"Are you two all that's left of the project," I finally asked once I swallowed my anger and embarrassment from his earlier comment.

Dr. Anderson shook his head as he sealed the cooler and strapped it on Sgt. Wilkes. "Matthews was supposed to be guarding the detention facility." He grabbed some paperwork and hastily shoved it into a black backpack. "His witchcraft should allow him to escape. He knows where to meet us. Let's go." He motioned to the wall at the back of the room which slid open to reveal a narrow tunnel. We all passed through and he sealed it shut blanketing us in darkness before each of us turned on our flashlight.

* * *

**Bella**

I'd sent a very naked Justin in search of some clothes for him and Yasmin while I watched over Felix. Yasmin was in the room where I'd found Justin giving me time to tame the ravenous vamp, though she didn't go willingly. Justin had to physically place her in that room.

"I cannot do this," he mumbled against my thigh where his head was resting. Even now I was employing all of Jasper's power against him; otherwise he'd be tearing that door down and draining our lovely voodoo priestess dry.

"Sure you can, Felix. I'm sure there are still many little humans fluttering around here. Eat one of them," I snickered. I'd already lost count of how many I'd killed today, but I knew we weren't anywhere close to being done. Everyone and everything had to be destroyed.

He twisted his face up towards mine, his lips drawn down in a deep frown. "Right now I do not desire to eat her."

I smiled broadly. "I'm not surprised. But if I quit using my calming powers you most likely would. She's been through hell already. Let's try to get her out of here safely, okay?"

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. I knew he was committing her scent to memory. Hell, her scent even appealed to me and had been tormenting me for the last few minutes even through the steel door. "I've never smelled anything like her," he whispered. "Is this what it was like for you with Tyler?"

My smile faded at the memory. "Yes, but I had some help. Virat was having a little fun with me. I don't know if he was truly my Singer, but the effect was the same. I couldn't control myself. For me, it was all about the blood. Sex never entered my mind. Right now I'm sure you're warring with yourself about which would prove to be a better use for Yasmin – her blood or her body. Personally, I'm hoping your lust for her body wins out."

"What was it like for you and Edward? When you first met, I mean?"

I chuckled remembering a time that seemed like centuries ago when all that mattered to me was finding out what Edward Cullen was. "Well, apparently he wanted to slaughter all my classmates and me, but managed to resist with much effort. In fact, he even traveled all the way to Alaska to get away from me."

"So it wasn't love at first sight?" He asked, looking oddly relieved.

"No, I guess not. But there was a link between us from the moment we met that only grew stronger and stronger each time we saw each other." I laughed remembering how irritated I'd been because of his long absence from school, not to mention, all that time he spent ignoring my existence. "Once he decided he could master his vampiric urges…well, we were both hopelessly in love."

"I do not wish to be in love, hopelessly or otherwise," he muttered. "Look what has become of you and Edward. Your relationship has been riddled with problems."

I leaned my head against the wall, my eyes closed, and murmured, "I know. But we've had a lot of help. First Marcus, then the might of the Volturi, and the one who caused the most trouble – Virat. I think Edward and I would've been fine if it wasn't for all of that."

"I am most sorry for my part in Marcus's scheme."

I ran my hands through his dark hair. "Shh, none of that matters now. You were just following orders."

"Do you think you and Edward will work things out?"

"Yeah, I do. Once I get this settled, I'm taking a vacation. I'm leaving Volterra and all the assignments behind, and I'm going to spend as much time as it takes convincing Edward of my undying love."

Justin, clad all in black like the soldiers, rounded the corner with Alice and Ben. "Look who I found along the way," Justin commented lightly. "I already explained what was going on with Felix," he chuckled as he pushed past us and opened the door, handing Yasmin some clothes.

"Where are Santiago and Mia?" I asked when Alice slid down the wall beside me, her little arm wrapped around my waist, her head resting against my shoulder.

"Mia's dead."

"Maybe not," Ben interrupted. He sat across from us and Felix crawled off of me and sat beside him, his eyes never moving away from the door.

"Without a head…"Alice began sadly.

"He'll find it," Ben supplied softly.

"Are you guys hurt?" I asked, trying to forget the fact that we'd probably lost one of our own, maybe two. Santiago probably wouldn't want to continue on without his wife. Hundreds of years they'd been separated by the Volturi and now this. It wasn't fair. They'd only had a couple of weeks together. It was all my fault. If I could have contained my anger when I saw Yasmin and just waited until we were with Jasper maybe this could have been avoided. I'd been rash and now Mia had paid for it with her life and Santiago with his heart.

"Nothing too serious," Ben replied while Alice nodded against my shoulder.

"Well then, let's go get your Jasper," I said, as I brushed a kiss against her spiky hair. "Justin, will you stay here with Yasmin? I can't very well let her come with us. Felix will just attack her again." He gave me a sulky nod, but didn't complain, though I could see that he wanted to.

Felix and Ben had already started down the hallway while I was talking to Justin when I caught another scent, a human scent. "Get in there with her," I whispered so softly as Alice moved up beside me looking completely worn out. "Getting any visions?" I asked because I wasn't.

She sighed. "He's not a soldier. He's military, but not a fighter."

He rounded the corner as Justin opened the door and Yasmin peeked out. The human came to an abrupt stop, the food that was piled in his hands fell to the floor, as his frightened eyes took me and Alice in.

The hallway erupted in snarls as Alice and I prepared to take him out.

"No!" Yasmin screamed and flung herself between us. "Please, he helped me," she begged.

"Nevertheless, he's one of them," I commented. "My orders are clear. All those associated with this experiment are to be destroyed." Earlier, Justin had retrieved a phone from one of the guards so I could call Aro while I was busy soothing Felix. To say that Aro was pissed about the way events had unfolded at the facility was putting it mildly. He'd given me direct orders to destroy every person associated with this place and for the safety of our kind, I had every intention of fulfilling those orders.

She stumbled forward and groped at my hands. "He dressed my wounds. And that food," she motioned back at the mess on the floor. "That was for me. Please. He can help us. He's no friend of the men you seek to kill, Bella."

Dammit. Aro was going to throw a fit, but how could I kill the one man that seemed decent? I cast a sideways glance at Alice and shrugged. Why not? I seemed to be breaking all the rules these days anyway, why not this one as well? "Fine." I closed the distance between us causing him to take a step back. "Your name?" I asked.

"Kay…Kayden," he stammered.

"And what's your purpose here, Kayden?"

"I'm just a tech person…computers," he muttered.

"Computers, huh? You might just come in handy after all. Come along. You may as well lead us to the detention center." I pushed him in front of me and Yasmin latched onto him with her frail arms.

"Uh, Yasmin." She stopped and turned back to me with her chocolate eyes. "You stay here. Felix won't be able to restrain himself while in your presence. It's not safe for you right now." Justin broke her grip on Kayden and dragged her back to the room.

* * *

We were almost to the detention area; I could smell Jasper's, and many others', scents. Felix and Ben were standing outside a door debating the best way inside.

"I'm sure whatever you two came up with would be a smashing success, but why not just let our computer wiz unlock the door." Kayden swiped his card, scanned his palm, and the door hissed open.

"You keep being so useful and you might just make it through this," I commented as I strode into the room. Cells lined both sides of the room and there was another door at the far end. Most of them were empty, but there were three on the left that had occupants. "Release them," I ordered.

"But…"

"Not buts, Kayden, just do it. I don't have time to argue."

"They are shape shifters. They'll kill me."

I sighed in frustration and approached the cell. "If we let you out are you going to be good little animals and help us, or should I just kill you now?"

"Hey lady, anything you want. Get us the hell out of here," the scrawny one said.

"See there? They're not going to eat you up. Now release them. And what are they?" I asked, motioning to the two males and one female across the room.

"Human," he replied as he entered a code into the computer. "The blond guy is telekinetic, the other guy's a clairvoyant, and the woman's a psychic." All the doors opened and we went in and broke their restraints.

"And our vampires? Where are they being held?" Not that David was really my vampire, but he was my responsibility, even if it was just to make certain that he was dead.

"Through that door." Alice crossed the room in a blur and wrenched the door open to get to Jasper.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I found him whole and unmarked. No signs of torture. Kayden unlocked the cells. Maybe I was just tired, but somehow I'd forgotten that I would be dealing with a rabid newborn. Melody bolted out of her cell and attacked Kayden. Thank goodness for the shape shifters, otherwise Kayden would have been dead.

A shiver went down my spine and too late I realized that we'd missed something. "Get out!" I warned, but the spell was cast. Fire licked up the walls as Ben threw himself at me and out of the corner of my eye I saw another Super Soldier. Another one with goddamn magical powers.

I ordered them to leave while I extinguished the flames near the door and fought off Ben who apparently was under the soldier's control now. When I searched the room again, there was no trace of the soldier.

Everything seemed to slow down as flames licked up my arm and Ben flipped me onto my back. I saw the shape shifters wrestle Melody out the door and Jasper and Alice fighting Felix. I had no clue which of the three was under the soldier's control. It didn't really matter; it was bad all the way around. We were either locked here in an un-winable battle or we had to kill our friends.

I tried Jasper's power but it had no effect against Ben. His teeth tore through my throat and for the first time in a long time I feared for my life. Not since the Volturi had trained me to fight had I been in a situation that I couldn't control…that I wouldn't end victorious in, but here, lying on the floor with Ben's mouth locked against my throat, I was suddenly little more than the helpless human I'd once been.

I was going to die without ever righting the wrongs between me and Edward. I was going to fail Aro and Alyria. The shape shifters wouldn't let Melody live if none of the vampires were there to make them. They would kill her and David and flee and they would be right to do so.

None of us would live to destroy the facility…The Cullens would lose both Alice and Jasper. Despair overwhelmed me, yet still my hands fought and tore at Ben. I had to save Alice. Every time I used Ben's powers against him, he countered them with his own. Flames would burn him and he would use water or air to extinguish them. I pushed his aura into him, hoping to hurt him enough to make him cease his attack as I was loath to kill him. It wasn't his fault, after all. But my little slashes had little effect on him and I found my powers draining, while his seemed very much in tact. The soldier had to still be in the room, just cloaking himself, in order to tweak his spell to such a degree. If I could just kill him, we'd make it out of here in one piece.

Alice's screams tore through me. I wanted to be by her side more than anything. I screamed for Justin in my mind. It was a cowardly thing to do – putting him at risk in order to save Alice, but I couldn't stop myself. With my last mental cry, my powers receded. I had nothing but my newborn strength to draw on.

* * *

**Please review. Let me know what you think. It helps me shape my next chapters plus it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside :)**

**Thanks**

**Sabrina**


	10. Chapter 10 Truth Shall Set You Free

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Goodness, I'm so sorry about the delay. I had a huge research paper and presentation that was due on Thursday. I have a debilitating fear of public speaking and I was so stressed about it that I couldn't bring myself to write anything. It's over and done with so to celebrate I wrote you lovely peeps a post. Hope you like it. **

**Chapter Ten And the Truth Shall Set You Free**

Justin was coming. I just had to fight Ben off a few more minutes. Everything was a blur now. All I was aware of was his teeth tearing at me, his hands clawing at me, and the floor beneath me shuddering as his power over earth cut great chasms through the floor. "Ben, dammit, get a hold of yourself," I rasped, my throat so raw from the struggle with him.

For a half of breath, he faltered. "Bella?" he asked, dazed, before he renewed his attack against me.

I'd shared enough information with Justin before I lost my powers that he knew to kill the soldier, the problem was locating said soldier as he was somehow hiding himself from us.

Time shimmered. I knew that feeling. It was one of the few powers that I'd come into contact with that for whatever reason, I'd been unable to collect. Justin was here and our time nearly stilled as his time continued naturally.

I felt him race past me, his scent putting me at ease immediately, but I never caught sight of his form as he searched for the illusive soldier.

Ben's attacks stopped so abruptly that my fist collided with his surprised face, his body sailing across the room only to crash into Jasper and Alice, who were no longer locked in battle with Felix.

I cringed when I heard the thunderous sound of their collision. "I'm so sorry, guys," I muttered as I got tenderly to my feet. I healed myself quickly and ran to Alice, tripping over what felt like a rock. I gasped when I looked back and realized it was Felix's head. "No!" I whispered, kneeling down to scoop it up.

Yasmin moved forward in slow, small steps. "You can heal him?" she asked, her voice barely audible even to my sensitive ears.

"Yeah," I sighed and pulled his body towards me. While I worked on him, I shot an angry glance at Alice and Jasper. "What the fuck? _This_ was not necessary."

Jasper clutched Alice closer to him and let a rumbling growl trickle from his barred lips. "He was trying to kill us."

"He was under a spell," I bit back.

"I didn't know that," he replied in a gravelly voice, still guarding Alice as though someone here would attack her at any moment. I guess, considering what had just happened, it wasn't too far fetched.

I jabbed my finger in Alice's direction. "She knew. All you had to do was keep him from killing you without doing too much damage to him. Look at Ben. He's certainly no worse for the wear."

"He's going to live, what are you bitching about? And look at you. Look what Ben did to you." He released Alice and glided smoothly across the floor, his fingers tracing Ben's bite marks on my throat and shoulder. Ben looked down at the floor, embarrassed at what he'd been forced to do to me.

Jasper's light touch made me shudder and I moved away from him. "You will bear these marks for all eternity, Bella. If you would've been a little more practical and a little less cautious, you-"

"God! You are unbelievable. I swear I can't win with you Cullens. Either I'm too ruthless or I'm too compassionate. You're never fucking happy."

"Bella, please. Be angry at us later," Alice interjected, trying to diffuse the tension boiling in the room. It was just what I needed and I stopped my tirade, my eyes roaming over our ever growing group. The humans and shape shifters had joined us again and I was suddenly angry all over again.

I didn't even remember moving, but I found myself in the frightened psychic woman's face. "Some goddamn psychic you are," I sneered while she took trembling steps away from me. "Did you know that soldier was in here waiting to attack us? Did you?" I roared. The blood drained from her leaving her a sick pasty color as her back hit the dull cinder block wall.

"Bella, stop," Alice said. "Look at her. She's been abused enough." Her dainty hand rested on my shoulder restoring some calm to my crazed mind and turned me away from the terrified woman. "You didn't have a vision. I didn't have a vision. How can you blame her for not foreseeing this? She's been abused enough for one lifetime. Please don't add to it." I nodded, unshed tears burning within me as I fell against her and soaked up all the comfort she was offering me, and when Jasper added his feel-good powers to the mix, I didn't object. I was burned out. One more catastrophe was going to be the drop of blood that broke the vampire's back. I was muttering incessantly while Alice stroked my hair and found myself enveloped in Justin's familiar arms.

"We'll get him, hun," he spoke gently.

"Get who?" I asked, perplexed.

Alice gave a small laugh. "Edward. You were just asking for him a few seconds ago."

I closed my eyes and tried to pull myself together. "Where's Melody?"

Two of the shape shifters came forward. "We've got her." He motioned back to the cells in the other room. "We locked her in one of the cells." I must have given him a stern look, because he was suddenly fumbling over his words as he tried to explain why Melody was a prisoner again. "She's starving, Bella. It took all of us to wrangle her into that cell. She would've killed all of the humans."

I nodded. "Jasper, why don't you, Ben, and the shape shifters start hunting down the personnel. I don't care what their role was. If they're alive, kill them. We need to sweep this mess under the rug and fast. Oh," I added. "Bring a couple down here for Melody." I half expected a big argument about my orders. About how wrong it would be to kill all those people, but Jasper's nothing if not practical. Carlisle, I'm sure, would have had a fit. Thank goodness he wasn't here.

Where to begin? The task was huge. "Kayden? Any suggestions?"

He looked startled at my question and stammered, "Uh, well…the…we need to…" his voice trailed off as his eyes searched the room frantically. "I guess we should find out if anyone has made it out of here."

"And we do that how?"

"The video surveillance," he replied in a droll tone.

"Great get started." I was still in Justin's arms, and couldn't bring myself to break the contact. "Hey, you got a cell phone; Ben seems to have crushed mine." Kayden unhooked his from his belt and tossed it to me and exited the room. _"Go with him, Alice_," I breathed through her mind.

I'd been debating the best way to get Melody back to Christian without having to actually run into Christian. I punched in Demetri's number. I'd send Jasper and Alice with him. Three should be more than enough to restrain Melody. And Jasper's powers would be more beneficial there. David had some control, I didn't have to worry too much about him, but I still had to worry about Rachael. "Shit!" I swore at the same time Demetri answered the phone.

"What's wrong? Justin asked.

"Bella?" Demetri questioned through the phone.

"Uh, hold on a sec, Demetri." I shook my head in embarrassment. "Rachael. She's still out in the woods…I just left her out there like that…her life's essence stolen from her." I pressed the phone against my forehead.

Lines formed on Justin's face as he frowned in confusion. "Rachael? Dave's girl?"

"Yep. I…uh…used Seline's power on her and then we were attacked, so she's still stuck like that. Hopefully some animal hasn't nibbled on her bones."

"Bella?" Demetri's voice reminded me that I was in the middle of something.

"Yeah, I'm here. Sorry about that. It's been a long day. I need a favor."

* * *

We were back in our hotel room. It had been spacious enough when it had just been the seven of us, but we now had nine others, not including the pile that was Rachael. She was now packed away in my luggage. I so did not explain that to David. Something told me he would be a bit peeved at my treatment of the love of his life.

Kayden had discovered that the doctor and three others had gotten away. Which created a huge problem all on its own, except it was so much worse than the fact that that there were humans alive that knew about us. They had Mia's head. If we could get to them soon enough, we might be able to put her back together again. I was guessing he was planning on resuming his Frankenstein efforts and would be using Mia's head for DNA samples. It wasn't like they had another facility lying around equipped to do such procedures; at least I was hoping they didn't. Kayden had assured me that there'd only been one. It would take them a while to create another lab and begin harvesting samples, so her head should remain intact for a while. For Santiago's sake I hoped so.

The compound was no more. We demolished it. Well, more accurately, Ben and I had. We created a huge earthquake, which left the facility little more than rubble. There was no evidence left of what had taken place in that house of horrors. It had taken hours to destroy everything, to hack into all the files and see how much information had been passed along, and how high up the military chain it went.

I definitely wasn't looking forward to explaining to Aro that this went as high as the Pentagon, which also meant that the President, or someone very close to him, was involved. I doubted that the President was actually aware, because if it ever became public it would ruin him. This way he'd have plausible deniability, but I'd bet my last pint of blood that his Chief of Staff or Vice President was somehow involved.

"Where's Ben? We need to get these humans into another room before Melody goes insane," I muttered. And as if my words were magic, he appeared with a key card in hand and ushered the humans out of our room. Felix went with him. He was doing his damnedest to ignore Yasmin, who seemed greatly hurt by his cold treatment. But I wasn't fooled. He left with Ben under the pretense of helping guard the humans, but I knew that he couldn't help but be near Yasmin. At least he wasn't trying to gobble her up, though he did look like he was in a great amount of pain.

I think the only reason he could bear to be near her was the amount of human blood coursing through his veins. I know, we weren't supposed to be drinking human blood under Aro's new edict, but we had to kill all of those humans…a few of us - I'm not naming names - got a little out of hand. I was beginning to doubt that I'd ever be able to get back on the vegetarian diet.

"You better call Edward," Alice reminded me as she filled another suitcase with her unnecessary garments. Why on earth had she felt the need to bring so many impractical outfits on this assignment was beyond me.

"Why?" I asked. Not that I didn't want to talk to him, God knew I did, but she had an odd look on her face that worried me.

"So we can arrange for you two to return Anna to Alyria," she said in an 'are you dense' tone. Alice and Jasper were going to help Demetri with Melody. He was on his way right now, much to Leah's chagrin. We'd decided she shouldn't come because, Melody, as a newborn, would not be able to keep from attacking a wolf. It was just a natural vampire reaction.

Fear thrilled through me. "I can't," I breathed.

"Can't what? Talk to Edward?"

"Can't take her to Christian."

Alice studied my face for a long moment before ordering everyone out of the room. When the last person filed by me, she closed the pale peach door and leaned against it. "I think it's time you told me what's going on. Why you and Edward have been separated. Why you are going out of your way to avoid Christian."

I turned my back to her trying to buy myself some time to gather my thoughts. I was afraid I'd lose her if I admitted the truth, but she wasn't stupid, she knew something was up. I let out a calming breath and turned back to my tiny, yet intimidating, sister.

"I slept with Christian my last night in Volterra," I admitted softly, looking at her from under my eyelashes to gauge her reaction.

Her lips pressed together in a firm line and she nodded her spiky head curtly, but remained quiet.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and went on. "Edward knows. We're working it out. I don't think it would be a good idea for Edward to go anywhere near Christian right now and I know I can't be around him," I supplied.

"Why, because you're in love with him?"

"No…I don't know."

"I think that's answer enough," she replied stiffly. "How could you do that to Edward, Bella? What's wrong with you? Do you not want to be happy? Edward would move the heavens for you. You're everything to him and this is how you repay his adoration and love?"

"I don't know…what you want me to say, Alice. I made a mistake and I regret it more than you'll ever know."

"If that were the case then you wouldn't be worried about seeing Christian."

"I don't understand…"

"The only reason you're afraid to see Christian is because you don't believe you can control yourself around him. Even now, you're still drawn to him. You still want him and you know that if you two are together again you'll fuck him," she snapped moving slowly across the room to stand in front of me, her eyes dark and full of anger.

I wasn't used to hearing such things come out of her mouth. I could tell she was livid with me. But her little theory was wrong. "No," I whispered. "No, I said more forcefully. "I will not make that mistake again."

"Why, Bella? Why would you risk your whole relationship with Edward? Why, when everything was over and we were about to get on with our lives, did you go to Christian?"

"We'd grown very close," I confessed. "I don't expect you to understand, Alice. There's no excuse good enough, but he was there for me when all of you abandoned me in that godforsaken place." Not that I thought of Volterra in a negative light now. I'd grown to think of it as my home and certainly felt more comfortable with Aro than the Cullens.

I realized that I'd quit explaining myself and glanced at Alice only to find her still glowering at me. "Edward and I were having problems before I'd even left for Volterra and…Christian…" I shrugged. "…was there for me. Respected me. Treated me like a woman instead of a fragile piece of glass that needed to be handled with kid-gloves. He never acted superior to me, the way Edward does. He's over seven hundred years old and I felt like his equal. I've never felt that way with Edward."

She sighed. "I told him that he was too domineering," Alice murmured. "He just wants to keep you safe, Bella. I know he's not always the easiest person to live with, but you bring out both the best in him and the worse. I've never seen him happier. You gave him that - a reason to live again. But at the same time, you stir that protective streak of his. I know he can be paranoid and intense. Maybe you should've tried talking to him about it instead of turning to Christian."

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ears and pondered her words. "You make it sound so simple. Do you think that he'll be able to just turn off that protective streak, because I don't."

"No, but he'll be able to restrain himself better once he realizes how much it bothers you. Call him. Even if you two can't deliver Anna to Alyria, you two still have a lot to talk about."

"There's no time for marital problems, Alice. In case you forgot, we still have a huge problem."

"There's always going to be some other distraction. Weren't you saying that you needed a vacation? I think you should take it. Aro has other people to rely on. It doesn't always have to be you."

I let that stew for a moment. She was right. I didn't have to continue searching for those people. I was tired in my soul and needed to get away from everything for a while. I chanced a look at Alice, who still looked pissed. "Do you hate me?"

A smiled tugged at her lips and she pulled me into a tight hug. "Silly, Bella. I could never hate you. I think you're an idiot, but that's beside the point," she chuckled and poked my nose with her index finger. She moved to the dresser and retrieved one of our newly acquired cell phones and held it out towards me. "Call him."

* * *

**Please take a sec to leave a comment and tell me what you think.**

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**Sabrina**


	11. Chapter 11 Memories

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**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I'll keep this brief…thanks to all my loyal reviewers. Your words really encourage me. And to those who caught a few of my grammatical errors-thanks. ***Beware soap opera angst ahead*****

**Chapter 11 Memories**

All the dangers I'd faced in last few months paled in comparison to making that phone call and setting up a meeting with my husband. But the voice that slid over me wasn't full of anger; in fact, he seemed pleased that I'd called. Course, that probably had a lot to do with the fact that we got Jasper out of the hands of the mad scientists, but whatever the reason, I'd take it.

I agreed to run by his beach house because he was concerned about traveling with Anna. On one hand, I was thankful she'd be there. How personal could we get with an audience? But on the other hand, I really wanted to make things right between us and the only way to do that was to sit down and talk it out. I didn't really want to do that in front of her.

The whole way over I practiced precisely what I'd say to him, how I'd act, what his response would be, but it didn't help. My stomach was still twisted in knots and I was feeling light-headed.

The moment he opened that walnut door with its frosted glass my whole speech was forgotten. I never failed to be star struck by him. I kept thinking it would lessen with time, but he was as extraordinary today as he was the first time I laid eyes on him.

He had that crooked grin that I'd missed so much while he judged my befuddlement with complete amusement. "Were you planning on coming in?" He glanced around then pulled the door firmly closed. "It's a nice night, why not sit out here?"

And still I just stood there drinking in his green t-shirt which was molded onto him and his dark jeans. It was just too much. Being that close to him. All coherent thoughts escaped me.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not mention something about needing to talk?" He prompted, smile growing ever wider with each passing second that I remained transfixed. He sighed and wrapped his hand around my elbow and guided me to the white porch swing with sappy little hearts carved in it. His touch, though innocent enough, sent my body into overdrive. Spontaneous combustion was not out of the question at that particular moment.

I wracked my brain for anything to say and finally blurted out what had happened at the facility, because all he was aware of was that we'd been successful at rescuing his brother.

"I don't even know where to begin with all of that," he admitted, his eyes roaming over me and pausing on my neck. He smoothed the pads of his fingers over my newest scar. "Ben did this to you?"

"It wasn't his fault," I defended.

"I know, but still…" he let his words trail off while he studied me further. "Are there more?"

"Yes." I removed my chocolate-brown leather jacket and draped it over my lap before pulling the shoulder of my cream shirt down to bare the other imprint of Ben's teeth.

A hiss escaped him as he slid his hand down my throat along my collarbone, to finally trace my scar. His touch left me breathless and needy. He was barely doing anything, certainly nothing at all sexual, but he might as well have trailed his tongue down me because it elicited the same response. I couldn't stop my body from quivering under his tentative touch.

His eyes met mine and I could see the same raw desire in his that was burning through me, but still he held himself back, slowly lowering his hand to his leg.

God, the discomfort growing between us was palpable as the silence stretched out uncomfortably.

"So Felix met his Singer? How's that working out for him?" He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear how forced those words were.

Ah, Felix. He was a mess to put it politely. He'd stormed out of their room earlier and accosted me, begging me to use my powers to manipulate his feelings for her. I'd told him to suck it up and deal with it like Edward had. If he could lie in bed with me, where my scent saturated every corner of my room and still not bite me, then Felix could certainly put up with a few days in Yasmin's presence. Yeah, I was in a foul mood because of my impending meeting with Edward and sort of took it out on him.

"He mentioned that she wants us to go back to New Orleans with her to help her locate her husband."

"She's married?" He gasped, eyebrows arched high in surprise.

"Yep. But I doubt that he's alive. The soldiers would never leave a loose end like that. Still, she won't listen to reason; she wants to see him for herself."

The swing creaked as it moved back and forth in time with the waves that were calming my nerves. There was just something serene about the salt air and the sounds of the ocean.

"This is probably nothing," Edward's velvety voice cut through my reverie. When he saw he had my attention he continued, "There's been an unprecedented amount of murders in Jacksonville lately." I quirked my brow, wondering what was in his head. There were always tons of murders in big cities. Hell, I'd personally murdered…well, I'd lost track, but if I had to hazard a guess I'd say about fifty just in the last day or so.

"Seven murders in as many days."

"Okay. What's your point?"

"Maybe you should call Charlie and ask him to invite Renee up to Forks for a while," he said in a tone that made it clear I was being obtuse.

Charlie. That was someone I felt no need to contact. Being asked not to attend his wedding had hurt me more than I cared to admit. I hadn't even sent a congratulatory card. "He has a brand new wife, Edward. I highly doubt he'd want Renee around."

He shrugged. "Fine. I just thought you should know what was going on there. I know how you avoid reading the paper whenever possible."

Anna poked her golden head out the door and my mouth fell open. I'd known the first time I saw her that she would make a spectacular vampire, but my imagination was sorely lacking, because the woman that stood a couple of feet from me was nothing short of breathtaking. Rosalie had nothing on her. Hell, Helen of Troy had nothing on her. Somehow she'd kept that sun kissed bronze skin of her, only now it radiated as though a light shone within her. Her large scarlet eyes shimmered like jewels and twice within a matter of fifteen minutes I was rendered speechless and utterly hypnotized by a vampire's splendor.

I could feel her eyes skimming over me like a feather caressing my body and found myself opening my mind to her. As soon as I entered hers I realized what she was. She was just like Alyria, another succubus, and she'd been hanging out with my husband for days. I wrenched myself free of her power and leapt off the porch to get some breathing room.

Edward was on his feet looking tensely back and forth between the two of us.

"Hey, Anna," I greeted, though not happily.

"Bella," she noted with a slight nod, a satisfied smirk playing on her pinkened lips.

Edward moved into action all at once and placed his hand on the small of her back guiding her back into the house while enquiring, "Everything alright?"

I collapsed onto the steps leading up to the white washed porch, waiting for my body to quiet. Well, no wonder he'd been in such a hurry to get back to her the other night. I could never compete with that. And much to my displeasure, I realized how very much I didn't want to take her back to Christian either. It broke something in me to know that he'd be with her. That they'd be spending the rest of eternity together. I pushed those ridiculous, jealous thoughts out of my mind and followed them inside.

The living room was white - and I mean white. Everything from the carpet to the walls - and all the little things in between - were white, and I hated it. White tapestry like furniture, white vertical blinds, white fire place. It had to be the most tedious room in all of existence. Hell, even the dreary cells at the facility had more personality than this room; must have been the blood spatters that pulled the whole look together.

I could hear their laughter bubbling up from beneath me and found the stairs that led to the lower level. They were standing in front of the TV playing the Nintendo Wii.

He glanced up at me warily. "I was teaching her how to play this game. I'll just be a minute." And he went back to explaining everything and showing her the precise movements to make with the remote.

I couldn't help but feel like an outsider who was encroaching on their private moment, so I drifted back upstairs into that wretched room and waited, rather impatiently, I might add, for him to finish up with the Aphrodite incarnate. Stupid blond goddesses.

I stood in front of the mirror and smoothed my hands over my clothes to make sure everything was perfect and ran my hands through my hair, which I'd loved so much after my transformation, but now thought was rather boring compared to Anna's, and even found myself wishing I'd taken a few extra moments to really do my make up.

Why-oh-why hadn't I listened to Alice when she was trying to play Barbie with me this evening? But no-oo, I'd thrown another one of my trademark fits when she tried to attack me with her fearsome make up brushes that she finally refused to help 'beautify me'.

I gave up and fell into the chair nearest to me and stared sightlessly into the flames fluttering in the fireplace.

Edward returned and sprawled out on the love seat across from me. "That should keep her occupied for a while. She is very much into those games. They're the only things that have captured her attention aside from the scent of humans."

"She's a succubus," I accused. I hadn't meant to. I swear. It just came out and it sounded way worse than I'd meant for it to.

He nodded, his face guarded. "Yes, she is. And she doesn't have control over her powers yet. It has been a trying few days, to say the least."

"Trying, huh? I'll just bet it has." Someone should glue my freaking lips closed, because they seemed to have a mind of their own.

He rolled his eyes at me. Really, he did. I don't think I've ever wanted to slap him before, but at that precise moment, I did. "Bella-"

"Don't '_Bella'_ me," I hissed. "You've been hanging out playing stupid video games with a succubus who cannot control her powers. And you expect me to believe that it's all innocent and harmless?"

"Jealousy doesn't become you, love," he stated, his lips curling into a grin, his eyes bright with restrained laughter. He'd better keep on restraining that laughter. I could not be held responsible for what I'd do if he started laughing at me right then. I was seconds away from hysterics while I contemplated why he'd bother with me - Plain Jane - when he could have Venus herself?

When I didn't respond, his smile faltered and he stated simply, "Of the two of us, I do believe I'm the only one that has cause for complaint. Even with her uncontrollable powers over desire, I have not succumbed to her advances. You cannot make such a claim." His voice was formal and stiff, the same as his posture, and I could finally detect that thread of anger within him that he'd hidden so well the other day.

I lowered my eyes and used my own powers to calm myself and to rid myself of my jealous rage. "You're right," I whispered, still staring at the white carpet. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. You've never given me any reason to think that way. I only wish I could claim the same." My head rose sharply as the rest of his words penetrated my guilty mind. "Advances? She hit on you?" Guess I was going to have to work a little harder on using my powers against myself, because I was suddenly furious.

"She could not help herself anymore than Ben could when he attacked you," he explained in a condescending tone.

Actually, he explained very little. "What exactly did her advance entail?" I asked, opening myself up to the one question I never wanted to answer.

"A lot less than your evening with Christian, I presume. Want to give me the blow by blow of that night?" Ah, and there it was - the question I'd hoped never to encounter.

I pursed my lips. This was so not going as planned. "Not particularly."

"Then I see no point in disclosing Anna's slipup." He shrugged and slouched back against the love seat, torn between laughing and glaring.

"Maybe I should go," I said jumping to my feet, but he beat me to the door and was leaning against it blocking my escape.

"Please, not yet. I was out of line, forgive me."

I bit my lip while I debated, but in the end I gave in. After all, I had this coming to me. I deserved this and more. I nodded, and allowed him to guide me back to my chair.

"You wanted to talk. I am assuming that it wasn't about Aro's assignment or Anna."

"Well, actually, it does have to do with Anna. At least a little bit." I explained about Demetri, Alice, and Jasper taking Melody back to Seattle tomorrow. "Alice wanted us to take Anna since my powers would help keep her calm," I supplied watching his face darken with each word.

"And do you think that's a wise idea?" He asked in a stony voice, his face unreadable.

I licked my lips before replying. "No, not at all."

"Why is that exactly? Is it because you're afraid of what I might do to your Christian-"

"He's not my Christian," I shouted, exasperated.

He continued as though I hadn't spoken. "Or is it because you don't want me to see you two together because it might reveal how enamored you two are of one another."

"This is getting us no where," I murmured, shaking my head in defeat. I'd been foolish to believe that we could get past this so soon.

"On the contrary, I think it's getting us everywhere." He rested his ankle across his knee and flashed me a fake smile. "Did you know that Anna's Christian's donor? She caters to them all, naturally, but she's his special one."

His cruelty tore through me. I barely recognized the scorned man seated across from me. He was purposely trying to hurt me with this information and enjoying the fact that he'd succeeded because I _hadn't_ known that she was his personal donor, and I couldn't keep the distress off my face, though why I was surprised by this revelation I could not say.

When I finally got my expression under control I met his stormy gaze and found a sort of grimly satisfied expression on his cold face.

How had our night progressed so badly? Everything had started out amicably enough and our last meeting had left me under the impression that we were finally getting over my affair. It just didn't make sense.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're going out of your way to put me on the defensive, why?"

"You wanted to talk, so I'm talking. Is the conversation not going the way you thought it would. Tell me, Bella, how's a husband supposed to react when his wife admits she had an affair with another man?"

He was deliberately goading me and it was completely unlike him. I smiled, a sardonic laugh filling the quiet void, my foot tapping out a frantic rhythm as he stirred my own anger with his patronizing words. "How far did Anna's advance really go? Did she kiss you? Is that why you're trying to make me feel like shit?"

He turned to stone, not one part of him moved, his eyes like marbles - lifeless. Something told me I'd hit the nail on the head. "She did, didn't she? It doesn't matter, but I'd rather get torn apart for my own actions rather than because you feel guilty and you're trying to deflect."

"I made it abundantly clear that I was not interested in playing her games," he finally stated.

I cocked my head to one side considering. I almost wished he'd fallen prey to her lusty ways, that way we'd be on even ground and he'd have the perfect excuse. God knew that I'd been on the receiving end of Alyria's talent a time or two; I knew how hard it was to resist. I wouldn't even be able to blame him, and it wouldn't be quite the blow to my ego.

"Not interested in her games, hmmm. I dunno, you sound a bit disappointed to me." Don't ask me what I was doing. He didn't sound at all disappointed, just very irritated.

He opened his mouth to say something then clamped it shut. "Let's start over. We were doing so well earlier, let's go back to that," he suggested.

I drummed my fingers, thinking, and then shook my head. "Let's not. How about we just deal with this now so we can get on with our life? I fucked up. All I can do is apologize, yet again. I know I made a very bad decision. I know I hurt you and destroyed your trust in me. Whatever it takes to fix this, I'll do it. Just tell me. Please. Tell me what to do. What can I say that will lessen your anger and pain? What can I do to regain your trust?"

He leaned his head against the back of the couch. "I don't know, Bella. I've asked myself that question every day since you confessed to me and I still don't know."

"There has to be something," I whispered, suddenly frightened that we wouldn't be able to get past my transgression.

"Show me."

I blinked in confusion replaying his words. "What?" I had no idea what he was suggesting.

"I want to see that night. All of it. Show me."

I stood abruptly, my head moving back and forth forcefully. "No!" What was wrong with him that he'd want to see that? I could never allow him to see that night, because then he'd realize how little it had to do with sex and how much it had to do our feelings for each other. No, the one thing I was sure of was that my marriage would not withstand that particular request.

"That's what I want, Bella. I need to see it to get past it."

"You won't get past it Edward. It will only make things worse and I will not share that memory with you."

He grabbed my arm, not hard, but he let me know that he wasn't letting go. "Open your mind, I want you to see something," he ordered harshly. His memory of Anna kissing him seared my mind. The difference was he had not wanted her affections. It was clear in his posture, in the way he extricated himself from her arms, from his very firm, but polite, rebuff. If he had been hoping to see something similar in my memories, he was gravely mistaken.

"I'm still not showing you. Please let me go."

His hand dropped from mine. "Just leave, Bella."

I wanted to leave more than anything, but I did not want to leave him here in the state he was in with Anna down stairs. Or did I? Him turning to her for comfort wouldn't be the end of the world, would it? A growl vibrated in my chest at the thought. Guess it would. Hell, who was I kidding, I freaked out when I discovered she was a succubus, there was no way in hell I was going to be able to accept them doing anything physical. That unwanted kiss already fanned the flames of my jealousy.

I knelt on the floor in front of his chair. "I'm not going to show you all of it. Pick a part. One part. And I'll share that one snippet with you, if that's what you truly want…need to put this behind you."

He glanced down at me sharply, shocked by my change of heart. "You said you'd do anything to fix things, yet you set constraints on what I need."

"I will do whatever it takes, but I don't believe that what you're asking of me is the solution you think it will be. So, we can do it my way, or not at all."

He hesitated a brief moment, then nodded. "Agreed." He slipped his hand into mine. "Show me the end of your night with him."

I cringed and qualified, "Just want to make sure you're seeing precisely what you want. Do you want to see us together having…sex…or afterwards?" I so could not believe I was agreeing to this, that I was even having this very strange conversation with my husband was beyond mortifying.

He thought for a second then answered, "Afterwards."

Of course, it was probably the most emotionally charged part of the whole fiasco, so naturally he'd select that moment. It's what he was looking for. He wanted to gauge my emotional connection and he was not going to be happy with what he saw.

You can tell a lot by after sex behavior. Some people couldn't wait to get their clothes back on and hightail it out of there, others were utterly comfortable together and their tenderness and love shone though with their simplest actions.

I reached out and stroked his jaw. "Are you sure?" I asked, my voice full of anguish.

He pulled my hand away, brushed a light kiss against each of my fingers and confirmed, "I'm sure."

"You'll never look at me the same way again," I breathed, my eyes burning with tears I could not shed, my stomach in turmoil as I gripped his hand tightly and let my memory engulf us, not giving him time to respond to my words.

_Christian had collapsed on his side, his groin pressed against my ass, still inside me, while we caught our breath. He began raining kisses over my hair and down my jaw._

"_Thank you, love," he murmured. "It was everything I hoped it would be and more."_

"_For me as well."_

"_I know you don't feel the same way, but I love you Bella," he declared in a hushed tone._

"_I don't want to…feel the same way," I hesitated. "…but I do, Christian. I do."_

_* * * _

_I dried off and wrapped the towel around me while moving back into the bedroom. He was at the foot of the bed, his chin resting on his arms completely engrossed in Bram Stoker's Dracula. I don't know why I found that so amusing, but I did. I climbed up with him and began massaging his muscular back._

_My face paled and my hands stopped kneading his muscles. "You have to take another flight," I said in a rush, fear evident on my face. _

"_What? Why?" He asked, perplexed._

"_Edward will hear your thoughts, dammit."_

_He rolled back over dismissing my mini freak out. "Bella, I am a shield, remember?" He chuckled and went back to his movie. Mina was in Dracul's arms and happy to be there while Jonathon did everything in his power to save her. What he didn't realize was that she didn't want to be saved._

"_Don't you think he'll think something's up if you are shielding your thoughts?"_

"_I have worked with you in Volterra for a month." He shook his head and sighed. "You know that I can shield specific thoughts." He finally turned his honeyed eyes back to me, eyes that shouted love and contentment. "I won't fail you, love. Do not fret so. Your secret is safe with me, until you deem it is time to reveal all." He winked and went back to his movie. "Can you believe I have never watched this before?"_

_I dressed hastily and tossed my torn thong into the trash before brushing a soft kiss against his temple. "Goodbye, Christian."_

_His eyes closed, his body tensed. "Goodbye, love."_

Edward withdrew his hands from mine when the memory ended, his body shaking, his eyes wild. I moved to the other side of the room to give him some space and waited for him to condemn me to a fate of existing in this world without him.

If I hadn't known better I would have thought Justin was around here altering time, because seconds felt like hours while I watched him wrestle with his different emotions. He finally walked up the stairs to the upper portion of the house. He stopped halfway. "I know I asked….but I need some time. Just go…for now…for tonight. We'll talk in the morning."

"I'm so sorry, Edward," I spoke into the empty room as I pressed to door quietly closed.

**A/N: I'm trying. I had a whole kiss and make up thing that I wrote about a month ago, but when I went to pull it all together with the lead in my characters got away from me…or should I say that Steph's characters got away from me. But I am trying. Don't lose hope. I am a happily ever after kind of gal, despite my angsty story. Please review. Tell me what you thought, what you want to see happen, that you loved it or hated it…just leave me a little morsel. It was a hard and emotionally draining chapter to write and your thoughts are much appreciated.**

**Thanks guys!**

**Sabrina**


	12. Chapter 12 Whatever it Takes

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: more soap opera-ish angsty stuff. Thanks for all the comments (nice hearing from so new readers!), alerts, and votes! I haven't had time to do a thorough once over, so excuse any errors. Feel free to point them out. I'll fix them as soon as I get back from class. Wish me luck on my two exams. Ugh!**

**Chapter 12 Whatever it Takes**

Instead of wallowing in my despair and hiding in my room, I found myself outside the humans' suite, knocking softly while I replayed my disastrous evening with Edward. The door swung open slowly revealing a haggard looking Felix wrapped in one of the hotel navy robes, his hair hanging limply with little droplets spattered across his shoulders.

"Need a distraction?" I asked and he gave me a half smile, more of a grimace really, and motioned me in.

The room had three bedrooms, but it looked like everyone was too wired to make use of them as they were all gathered in the drab sitting room. Yasmin glanced between me and Felix almost nervously, but she quickly returned her attention to Kayden who she had latched onto after escaping the facility.

"Ask her," he prompted.

I leaned into Felix and whispered softly, "Do you know what's going on?" He nodded in assent and cleared off a chair for me to sit on.

She turned those frightened dual colored eyes on me and it killed me to see the contusions on her once perfect body. She cleared her throat and began, "I must find my husband," she cast a sideways glance in Felix's direction, before returning her attention back to me. "You've already done so much for me, Bella; I know I shouldn't even ask."

"You want us to go with you," I supplied wearily. When would it ever end?

"My husband is a kind man. He didn't deserve what to what those men did to him. Please say you'll accompany me to New Orleans." She uncoiled her frail body from Kayden and stood to her full height, which was significantly shorter than mine, and gave me an unobstructed view of the damage done to her.

I'd wanted to heal her once the chaos dissipated, but she'd refused. No explanation, just a flat out refusal.

Felix tensed beside me and muttered, "I need some air," and bolted out the door before I even finished turning my head to face him. Nevermind, that he was still in his bath robe.

Her injuries were almost a physical pain for him. The poor man was torn between wanting to comfort her and screw her. Thanks to Alyria, I could gauge lust in a way the other vampires could not, and Felix's lust for the married woman was nearly suffocating. He'd since moved past the 'wanting to drain every drop of her blood from her fine body' phase, and had plummeted straight into the 'I want to throw her down and make mad monkey love to her' phase.

"Tell me about the night they came for you," I encouraged gently and she sunk back into her chair, her eyes still locked on the door that Felix had exited through. I did not envy her. I'd been in her position a time or two. Torn between Edward and Jacob and Edward and Christian…it wasn't a fun place to be. She had the same look in her eyes that I knew was in mine. Clearly she loved her husband, but the pull of the Singer was too strong.

She exhaled and closed her eyes remembering. "It was late in the night; we were asleep. I was startled out of my sleep by my Devon's anguished pleas and a strong hand clamped over my mouth while another person injected me with something. It didn't knock me out, more like an acid trip. I was aware and not. Things would be clear on moment, then the next it was a horror show. Devon was beaten so badly…so much blood. It'll never come out of my carpet. We won't get our deposit back," she rambled still staring sightlessly at the door, gripped in her dark memories.

Kayden picked her up like a child and settled her back onto his lap. "We'll find him, Yasmin and Bella will make sure that none of those men ever hurt you or your family again," he stated matter-of-factly. It was unsettling to have someone believe so strongly in your abilities. I hoped that I would not fail them.

He brought her out of her trivial rant about deposits and carpet and she continued in a hoarse voice, "He screamed for me to save him, but I was bound and gagged. I couldn't invoke my spells like that, especially with the drugs in my system. One of them finally addressed me and said that if I went with them willingly that they wouldn't hurt Devon anymore. Of course I accepted. He looked so bad. I don't know what they did to him, but every inch of him was covered in his blood, dear god!" she cried and leaned her head against Kayden who was whispering soothing words in her ear again. "He's not alive, is he?" She asked.

Even though I was fairly sure that he was dead, I couldn't bring myself to take her hope away, which is exactly how I managed to take on another job when I'd been planning on a long vacation.

"Only one way to find out." I stood up and covered her hand, which was about the same size as Alice's, and vowed, "Felix and Kayden will come with us and we will scour every inch of New Orleans until we find him." I'm sure Felix would be thrilled. He'd have a fit either way, I figured it would be easier all around if he could at least see with his own eyes that she was okay. I remembered how anxious Edward was when we were apart.

I tried to push all thoughts of my broken hearted husband out of my mind. I'd been so focused on Yasmin that I'd forgotten for a brief few moments the mess that I'd left at that beach house-that I'd left him vulnerable and in the hands of a succubus. I kept telling myself that Edward was stronger than me and no matter how negatively he might be feeling toward me he wouldn't succumb to Anna's power.

* * *

Alice was lying in bed with Jasper watching Casablanca when I entered their room. Jasper immediately sensed my emotional turmoil and rose off the bed towards me while Alice remained frozen taking in every nuance of my expression.

"Edward being an ass again?" He asked as he took me into his arms in a very brotherly hug before pushing me towards the bed. "Up you go." He helped me up, crawled in too and stuck me in the middle. "Alice filled me in on your…marital issues?" He asked uncertainly trying to find the perfect word to describe it without too many negative connotations.

"Great. Thanks Alice."

"Aww, don't be like that. We're family. We're here to help."

I found myself spilling every detail of my night. They never interrupted or gave me any reason to think that they wished I'd leave and give them some alone time. All I got from them was love and support, something I'd been sorely lacking for a while.

I stayed with them all night watching old movies and listening to Jasper's wild tales before he met Alice. I was shocked to discover morning had arrived and I'd barely spent any time wallowing.

A brisk knock to the door was what brought me back to reality, back to a time where Edward hated me.

Alice's sing-song voice called out, "Come in." And Demetri stood in the doorway. I was out of the bed in a flash, my arms thrown around his neck. He kissed the top of my head and chuckled.

"It is wonderful to see you too, Bella." He glanced past me to the two vamps on the bed and nodded. "Alice. Jasper."

"We'll be ready shortly," Alice trilled. "You two go catch up."

We went outside and walked through the forest, the trees keeping us mostly dry from the torrential rain. "How's life with the wolves?" I asked, a stupid grin plastered on my face. Being with Demetri was like trying to molest Alyria- easy. Everything just flowed between us and we just picked up right where we'd left off, never missing a beat even though so much had happened since we'd had any real time together.

"It is still taking some getting used to," he confessed. "But Leah…" He smiled broadly, his eyes shining with love. "She is amazing. I have proposed to her and she's accepted. We are finally going to make things official."

I laughed, I couldn't help it. I still found the whole idea of Demetri tied to a wolf bizarre. "Congratulations, Demetri. I couldn't be happier." And it was true. His elation was bubbling up inside me like fine champagne. "When's the big day?"

"We have not decided as of yet, but I do know something that will shock you," he teased.

"Well….spit it out…uh…if it's a good shock. I've really had all the bad surprises a gal can take."

His smile slipped - not all the way - but enough that I knew he was analyzing me, trying to divine my troubles. Finally he continued, "The pack has not been terribly accepting of me, so Leah has decided to move back to Italy with me. We will be getting married there, as well. Perhaps you can even be my Best Woman," he offered.

I had quit walking as I was too busy gaping at him. "Holy crap!" I squealed. "This is the best freaking news I've had…in like forever!" I was practically jumping up and down like Tigger in my excitement. "You'll be back in Volterra, then?"

"Indeed. You might find this hard to believe, but she was rather fond of that place."

I did find it hard to believe. Nothing good had befallen her there. And could she really live happily ever after among the vampires, especially if I was one of the vampires?

"What about Seth?"

He shrugged. "He has yet to make up his mind." He wiped the rain from my upturned face. "And what about you? You look broken, Bella," he murmured gently, his eyes full of concern.

I sighed, my happiness dissolving as fast as it had appeared. "Edward and I have been separated since the morning I last saw you. I stopped by his place last night to try and work through our issues. Let's just say it didn't quite go as planned."

He didn't reply and we started walking hand in hand down the path. "May I enquire as to what led to this separation?" He finally asked.

"Sleeping with Christian," I admitted bluntly. I felt no need to hide anything from Demetri. I should have been embarrassed, but things just weren't like that between us.

"Ah, I suspected as much. And you confessed to your Edward, I gather?" I nodded. "Bella, if I'm out of line just tell me, but…" he looked around struggling to find the perfect words, then said, "I spent time with you and Edward and you and Christian. A blind person couldn't have missed the love you have for both men." He winked at me when I opened my mouth to interrupt. "Alyria was certain that you would eventually join her coven as his mate. She is rather fond of you."

I scoffed. "Alyria's just a big tease. All she likes is the chase…to play with her food, see how much she can work them up. It's a game to her."

"I think you would be surprised to know how much you came to mean to all three of them." He waved his hand dismissively. "But that is not what's important right now. You have that same haunted look in your eyes as you did the night I left the Cullens' house. And the same person put it there."

"You really don't like Edward, do you?" I asked, a smile tugging at my lips.

"Not in the least," he chortled. "Edward needs to get over himself and quit raking you over the coals. I know you well enough to know that you have apologized and done everything you could think of to make amends. And that's fine. Good even. But you cannot let your guilt consume you. If Edward is too stubborn to accept your apology, then move on. You cannot spend the rest of your existence trying to make this up to him. Nor should you."

"You think I should give up on my marriage?" I gasped.

"No. I simply do not wish to see you spend the rest of your life feeling inferior to a man who is most certainly not superior to you. If he cannot forgive you…well, I know for a fact that there is one man waiting to scoop you up. I saw the way you and Christian were together. I admit, it is not quite as strong as what was between you and Edward, but the difference is so slight, that I know you two could be more than happy for a long time.

* * *

From the hotel window I watched Demetri's SUV pull away with Melody, Jasper, and Alice. From Seattle they would fly to Italy and we'd all meet back there as soon as possible.

Demetri had pulled me aside and asked me if there was anything I wanted him to convey to Christian; talk about a troublemaker. God only knew what he'd say. As long as Christian stayed on the west coast and far from me, I guess it didn't really matter.

I hastily dressed in the outfit Alice had left out for me, as she had taken it upon herself to pack my bags. I buttoned the last button on my sapphire shirt and tucked it into the black slacks while I made a mental list of what was left to do before we checked out.

I'd already decided to send Ben, Santiago, and Justin back to Volterra with David and the three humans. They would also be transporting Mia's headless body and Rachael who was still stowed away in my luggage. Thank goodness for private planes. Try explaining those two passengers to flight attendants.

The shape shifters left late last night. They had their own secrets to keep, I trusted them to keeps ours as well. Aro would not be pleased, but to take them back to Volterra would certainly result in their deaths and I did not go through all that trouble just to see them dead.

I'd already bargained with Aro about the humans. I couldn't be there to protect them now, so I ensured that they would be cared for properly and not as prisoners. It wasn't their fault that they'd been abducted and discovered our existence, so I refused to let them be punished for it. Though, I suspected he would demand that they be transformed and I was okay with that.

Yasmin, Felix, Kayden, and I were going to New Orleans to search for her husband as soon as I got back from visiting Edward.

He'd called while I was out with Demetri. Alice mentioned that Jasper had a long talk with him, but she wouldn't tell me what was said. Whatever it was it couldn't make things any worse, so I wasn't too concerned.

I threw on my black trench and hopped into the car. The rain had plastered my hair to my face, but I saw no reason to bother with it. It wasn't as though anything I could do would make me half as beautiful as Anna, so why bother. I rammed the gearshift into drive and pealed out of the parking lot.

I also took Edward's advice and called Charlie and I'm glad I did, sort of. Apparently Leah and Seth had undertaken the arduous task of PR, because Billy and the rest of the wolves no longer blamed me for Jacob's death. Whatever. Didn't change anything. Jake's funeral and dad's wedding were long gone; the wolves' forgiveness wouldn't give me back those two moments.

Speaking of the wedding, dad sounded happier than I could ever remember and felt terrible that I couldn't be there. Apparently, the wedding pics were already in the mail, though where exactly he sent them I wasn't sure and didn't really care. It was sort of like rubbing salt in a wound, if you ask me.

I made the turn onto the street that led to Edward's secluded beach house and tried not to let my fears get the best of me. The storm that had settled over the Outer Banks had the ocean to my left churning and the rain so heavy that most of the motorist had pulled off the road to wait it out.

I passed the last house that marked the little community of Corolla and prepared myself for the last ten minutes of my drive. The news on the radio had announced that another body had been discovered late last night stuffed in a dumpster outside its apartment. It. They were not releasing any further details, so all we got was an it.

Charlie agreed with me that Edward was being paranoid and that Renee wasn't in danger, but the news report had me reconsidering. I'd searched her future and come up empty. Doesn't mean something couldn't happen, just that there was not some crazed killer with concrete plans to take my mom out at the moment.

My sour mood became even more unpleasant as I pulled up to his house. I couldn't wait to get this over with so I could go to New Orleans and distract myself from the catastrophe that was my life. I know I'd planned on taking a vacation, but that was when I assumed Edward would want to be there with me. I found it hard to believe after last night that he'd be interested in going anywhere with me. Not to mention, that Aro was pretty insistent that I track down the four humans that had escaped the facility. Actually, that was putting it mildly. I had to barter myself in order to protect the humans I was sending over. I couldn't care less what happened to David and Rachael, but the humans were innocent. I did, however, inform him that he should prepare another team to come here. Felix and I certainly weren't enough, and dammit, I was tired.

It wasn't like the good doctor was going to show up on the Montel William's show and talk about the things he'd seen, he was going to lay low and rebuild his enterprise. As for the David fiasco, that story was barely news. It could still be found in the gossip magazines and was ranked somewhere below alien abduction.

The sound of the door opening caused me to jerk in surprise. Edward stood outside my car with a blue and white umbrella and held my door open for me. I'd been so lost in thought that I hadn't even noticed him. I kept my eyes averted. I so did not want to see whatever expression was on his face.

* * *

"So you came back," Anna said when we entered the house. She was camped out on the floor in front of the coffee table putting a puzzle together.

I slipped my impractical pumps off and crossed the room, dropping an envelope on the table in front of her. Alyria had sent a letter to both of the women plus I'd added some pictures of Melody for Anna.

"What's this?" She frowned as she turned it over a few times and inhaled deeply.

"It's from Alyria."

She nodded and sprung to her feet, the envelope clutched in her hands, and left the room without another word.

I waited, my back to him, too cowardly to fill the void that Anna's departure left.

"Let me take your coat, it's soaked," he offered gently as he moved to my side. I shrugged out of it and handed it to him, our eyes meeting briefly before he turned away to hang it up.

Yeah, this wasn't awkward at all.

I flung myself into the same chair I'd been in last night and tried to find something intelligent to say. What do you say after you've shown your husband a memory of you basking in then afterglow of sex with his rival? Somehow I doubted there was a book that covered situations like that.

"You don't need to be so nervous, Bella, I'm not mad," he eventually stated. I flicked my eyes at him but couldn't read what he was thinking or feeling. I could cheat and use my powers, but it hardly seemed fair. And, frankly, I was tired of my powers. If it weren't for them the Volturi never would have been interested in me and my family would still be intact. Or, at least, that's what I kept telling myself.

"What are you then, if not mad?"

"Mostly numb. But you did what I asked, you shared your memory, and for that I'm thankful." He rubbed his face wearily and sighed. "I think we should talk about that and I'd like some honest answers."

"Okay."

"You told him you loved him," he stated without any outward emotion.

I took a deep breath steeling myself for this conversation. "Yes."

"You once told me that you loved us both, but that you loved me more. Is that still the case? Did your night with him make it more?"

"Edward, I…"I shook my head as my words escaped me.

"Honesty, Bella," he chided.

"Yes, that night changed things," I whispered in resignation. "But it's not the same…it will never compare to what we have." I met his eyes and flinched at the emotion roiling through them like the storm raging outside. "I love you, Edward, you know that, right?"

"Then why did you have sex with him?" The anguish in his voice tore through my soul and left me breathless. "I need to know. What was lacking in our marriage that he could give you?"

"Equality," I blurted out. "All you see when you look at me is that seventeen year old girl I was when we met. Christian sees me differently."

He was quiet a long time while he considered my words. I glanced at my watch. I had maybe an hour left before I had to catch my plane and leave him here with the beautiful succubus.

Finally he nodded once, then said, "I spent the night thinking things over…I'm ready to put this behind us, if that is what you want." He knelt in front of me, cupping my face in his trembling hands. "Do you still want me?" His voice wavered; his eyes held a glint of uncertainty that left me feeling guilty that I'd caused such a wonderful man so much heartache. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

His lips pressed against mine so softly as though it was our first kiss, the only difference was I wasn't trying to maul him this time. Instead of butterflies fluttering in my stomach I had the unsettling feeling of worms squirming uncomfortably and I pulled away.

I hated the pain that was coming off him in waves at my rejection, but how could we be kissing now when things had gone so horribly wrong last night? Surely his feelings hadn't just poofed out of existence. I didn't want him to just act like everything was perfect and good when it wasn't.

He started to move away, but I grabbed him. "You have a terrible habit of avoiding things, Edward. I don't see how you can go from being as angry as you were last night to this."

"I told you I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've come to the conclusion that you're not entirely at fault." He ran his hand through his hair sending the bronze tendrils everywhere and it took everything in me not to reach out and brush it out of his obsidian eyes. "I've forgiven you," he mumbled, his face pressed against the arm of the chair, hands clutching tightly at my thigh. He almost looked like he was kneeling at a confessional, except he had nothing to seek forgiveness for. It was me that should be on my knees begging for absolution.

After last night I hadn't expected forgiveness and I was having difficulty believing him. "I don't deserve you," I muttered. "What I did…it was unforgivable, Edward." I stroked his smooth cheek and he turned to face me, still resting on the arm of the chair. "I don't deserve you," I reiterated. Demetri was wrong. Edward was a much better person than me.

He raised his head and smiled sadly. "Not unforgivable, just difficult to forget, difficult to get past."

"But, last night-"

"I was angry…I guess a part of me still is, but what good would it serve for me to yell at you? To say all those words that I can't help but think? It won't change things. It won't undo that night. Whether I tell you that you're…" he shook his head as he clamped his lips tightly together.

"Say it," I encouraged needing to hear everything. "If you don't, I will just read your mind," I threatened.

"Bella, please. Do not make me do this. Sometimes words cause more damage than actions themselves."

I wanted to know what was truly in his thoughts, but I forced myself to stay out of his mind. He'd made me share that memory last night and it almost ruined us, I was not going to make the same mistake.

"I deserve it. I should hurt. Look what I did to you - to us. You being all noble, it doesn't make it better. It just makes me feel even guiltier. Or is that exactly what you wanted? Is that how you plan on punishing me?"

"You're being ridiculous. I am not punishing you, nor do I have any intention of doing so. I just want to put this behind us."

"I had sex with Christian!" I screamed in frustration. "How the hell do we just put that behind us?" If Anna hadn't known, she certainly did now. There was no place in this house that my most humiliating confession hadn't permeated.

He closed his eyes; his face tightened in anguish and let out a slow breath. I noticed his hands trembling minutely before he paced to the mantle utterly absorbed by the flickering flames.

"You did what you did for many reasons," he finally murmured. "I put you into a situation that almost guaranteed this precise outcome" He glanced back at me and motioned me toward him as he laid a thick blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace.

I didn't understand what I'd done to deserve him. I'd done a despicable and hurtful thing, and yet there he sat beckoning me, ready to absolve me and move forward with a clean slate. I glided slowly forward and curled my body against him. I thought about his words. Even now, he was trying to make my mistake his fault. "Don't you even try to take the blame for my screw up, Edward Cullen! When Christian and I…well, we didn't do it to keep up pretenses. Don't you understand? We had sex because we wanted to, because I was attracted to him."

"Just hear me out for a minute. I've had a hundred years to know what I want. I've had countless experiences, made thousands of embarrassing mistakes." He ran his hand through my hair again then peered intently into my eyes. "Everything in your life has happened in a whirlwind. And you're so young. So much that you simply don't know about yourself, so many experiences not yet had." He tightened his hold on me and leaned his head against mine whispering, "But you are right in one respect; you are not the same seventeen year old girl I fell in love with and I should not treat you as such."

"Why are you being so kind? You should hate me, you should…"

"The only thing I should do is love you, Bella, and I do. Do you think you can sit here silently while I explain why I don't hate you, why you deserve to be forgiven?" I nodded, words failing me. Love, the likes of which I'd never felt, swelled up in me. To love someone when everything was shiny and new, when everything's perfect- was easy, but, to love someone when the luster had faded away and mistakes had been made, that was the true test.

"You gave up your human life and bound yourself to the first man that stirred you. Bound for all eternity. Let's not forget that even before I turned you, the Volturi manipulated you and put you in grave danger when they attacked the wolves. Virat turned us inside out as he toyed with our emotions and caused you to feed on a human, a friend. And just like that you were expected to get over it. To deal with my jealousies over Demetri and to take part in a plan against the Volturi that you wanted no part of. I never wanted you to go. The thought of what you might have to do while in Volterra sickened me, but Virat was still interfering and Carlisle was so persistent. All I'm saying is that you've had a lot to deal with in a very short amount of time. I had many uneventful years to get used to being a vampire. I killed a lot of people because I felt that Carlisle's way of life was too restrictive." He fell silent. I didn't even know what to say. He wasn't wrong, but it did not excuse my actions. "You were vulnerable. Jacob had just died and I imagine that mourning him with me was difficult, knowing as you do, how he and I felt about one another. You were weak, you were hurt, and you made a bad decision."

He whispered against my hair, "You made a mistake and I just want to get past it. I want us to work, to get back what we once had. But, it will take some time. We can't just go back to the way things were…not just like that," he snapped his fingers briskly. "Time. It truly does mend all wounds. Just give me a little more time to work through this. To be able to close my eyes and not see you in his arms. To know that when you and I make love again that it's me you want to be with, me that you're thinking about - not him."

I nodded frantically, my eyes burning with unshed tears, my chest tight with emotion. "What are you saying? We should separate?"

"No, love," he captured my trembling hand engulfing it completely. "Just that we need to start over. You're a very different woman from the girl I met back in Forks."

I flinched at that hard truth. Could he even begin to love me the way I was now? Would we try only to discover that I was no longer what he wanted…needed?

"Bella," he admonished softly bringing my hand to his lips so carefully and inhaling deeply before feathering light kisses across my wrist. "Ah, that is something that has not changed. You, my love, are still utterly delectable."

**A/N: God, I think that was the hardest chapter ever. Sorry for the enormous length. I never know what should be cut once I start writing, it all feels like it should be included. If there's a part in there you think I could omit let me know. That'll be enough of the soap opera stuff. I need to get back to the tracking and killing. These things make me happy LOL. Let me hear your thought. Did I make the right decision? Was it believable? Thanks! **

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	13. Chapter 13 The Big Easy

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Thanks for all the comments and adds-It means so much! I've really been struggling with the plot now. It's all a little chaotic and I was trying to figure out who needs to narrate because there's a lot happening in other places. I'm beginning to regret undertaking this fic because it's a lot more involved than my others. Anyhoo…enjoy and let me hear what you think…pretty please with Edward on top…or Alice if there's some guys out there :P**

**Chapter 13 The Big Easy**

Yasmin's colonial style house that she'd rented was perched on the corner of Royal Street and I gawked at all it's lavishness as I climbed out of the car. White pedestal columns and wrought iron balconies, which had vibrant flowers hanging from the rails, decorated the old house. From the outside it was very prim, but somehow I doubted it would be reflected within.

This was our starting point, though Yasmin was leery about entering her house, the confused memories making this an almost unbearable task, but she figured that it would shed some light on her missing husband.

We'd called every number we could think of and so far none of their friends, business associates, neighbors, or acquaintances had seen nor heard from Devon. Not that I'd expected them to, but we went through all the motions to please Yasmin. All of us had really taken to her. She seemed to elicit a mothering response in me. All I wanted was to wrap her up and make all the bad things go away.

Her hand found mine and I gave it a reassuring squeeze and followed Felix and Kayden up her porch stairs completely aware of her spastic breaths and the sheen of nervous sweat coating her thin body. Course, could just be the balmy temperature here. Back in North Carolina it was barely thirty degrees, but here it was an unexpected sixty-five, not that it affected me. That was certainly one thing I was grateful for. It didn't matter how hot or cold it was, vampires weren't fazed by it.

"I can't," she began to mutter over and over and the words got even more frantic when we hit the last step and watched the men pass through the bright teal door.

I turned her to face me and lifted her chin so I could make her see me and not the nightmare that she'd been locked in everyday since we'd rescued her. "You can do this, Yasmin. We will be with you and no matter what we find when we get in there, we'll help you deal with it. You're not alone."

Tears filled her eyes, but did not spill over as she nodded her head.

Nothing looked out of place downstairs. It was immaculate. Too immaculate considering no one was to have been there in several weeks.

Felix touched my shoulder lightly and whispered softly in my ear, "There's nothing upstairs. Not a body, not a drop of blood." He gave me a pointed look and I knew he thought the drugs had affected her to the point that she'd hallucinated the whole scene, but I wasn't so sure.

I gave her an encouraging smile. "Let's check out your bedroom. Felix says it's empty and there's no sign of a…" I paused while I searched for a word without negative connotations. "…struggle." She swallowed loudly and climbed the winding staircase slowly. It was tedious, but I knew better than to rush her. She was hanging on by a thread and it was unraveling fast.

Her face froze once she entered her bedroom and I watched her memories play out as she relived that night again. The memories were clear which said to me that the drugs hadn't unhinged her nearly as much as Felix believed.

Devon, a short, dark man with dreadlocks that fell down his back in a ponytail, was pleading with his captors for his wife's safety. The memory clouded briefly and I had no way of knowing how much time had elapsed then it sharpened and her husband was pressed against the picture window and rivulets of blood fell from him. I crossed the room and went to my knees running my hand over the rug that should have born some evidence of the image filling my mind, but it was spotless. Not spotless in the 'I'm brand spanking new' way, but just a rug that had never seen a drop of blood spilled on it.

I glanced at her over my shoulder and asked, "Is this the same rug?"

"Yes," her voice came out raspy.

Felix and I shared a look across the room and I shrugged slightly while lifting the rug and inspecting the mahogany floor, but I detected no scent of blood there either. I brushed my knees off and stood taking the room in - the huge wrought iron bed with mosquito netting, the mismatched furniture, pink chaise lounge, and French paintings that graced the walls. Nothing gave the impression that something horrible had taken place here weeks ago.

Yasmin made an inaudible sound and her eyes seemed to glaze over, looking almost opaque. Very eerie. And then I felt it. Her power. She moved across the room deftly, yet not truly aware of her surroundings, and ripped the bedding from the bed. On the mattress was an intricate symbol that meant god knew what.

She spoke in a jilted language. Cursing, I thought, and then her eyes cleared and she looked at me. "We must leave. This spell will alert the caster of our presence here. If it's one of Dr. Anderson's men, we do not want find ourselves at their mercy."

Actually, I wanted that very much. Well, not the 'mercy' part. But I had to find them, and if we had to be bait, I was okay with that. By the looks on the others' faces I was in the minority. They rushed out of the room and I leaned over the bed inspecting the symbol. Brown like dried blood, but it was not blood. I couldn't quite make out the light fragrance, but it seemed familiar.

They were in the car waiting for me and looking very unhappy about my turtle pace, but I needed to examine everything dammit.

A small fabric bag in the bottom of the planter near the top step caught my eye and I bent over and peered at it. It looked harmless enough, so I grabbed it. Yasmin could fill me in on the way to our hotel, which couldn't be more than a few blocks away as it was located somewhere on Royal Street.

* * *

Yasmin hadn't eaten in hours, so Kayden and I kept her company at the hotel restaurant while Felix got us checked in. She'd freaked out earlier in the car upon opening the small bag. Once she was calm she explained that it was a gris gris. Usually used for luck and other positive desires, this one had been filled with a dark powder which apparently was a warning. Personally, I thought it was overkill. We were aware that trouble was coming our way, didn't really need the little bag of cemetery dust to drive the point home, but Yasmin was really keyed up about it and demanding that we stop by Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo which was on Bourbon Street.

"Laveau?" Kayden quipped. "That's your last name," he pointed out as though she had somehow forgotten.

"I am descended from her," she replied simply and returned to her food. For such a frail woman, she sure could put the food away.

Felix slid into the chair next to me and handed me an envelope and I was caught off guard by the scent saturating it. My hands trembled as I stared at the heavy paper and I met Felix's eyes which were full of concern. "I wasn't sure if I should deliver it to you. It arrived at the desk this morning," he explained

Yasmin and Kayden were murmuring softly not paying any attention to my mini breakdown.

I slipped my finger into the seam and split it apart revealing another heavy parchment with Christian's elegant script. I barely got past "My Dearest Bella" when I folded up the letter and struggled to return it to the matching envelope with shaky hands. Felix stilled my hands with his own and drew the letter from me then tucked it back inside the envelope in one swift movement before handing it back to me.

Coward. But I could not walk down that road again. I needed to cut him out of my life completely. I'd been fooling myself that we could remain friends in any capacity. My feelings for him hadn't lessened and contact with him would only make it worse.

I stuck it in my purse, unable to bring myself to throw it away even though I knew I should. If Edward ever found it…Well, I didn't want to think about that.

Edward and I had parted on a positive, if not slightly awkward, note with him agreeing to catch up with us as soon as Alice, Jasper, and Demetri arrived to take Anna back to Seattle. Just a few more days and I'd have my reason for existing by my side again and I would not jeopardize that for anything. Not even Christian, though it broke my heart to admit it.

* * *

**Kinly**

The meeting with the Joint Chiefs was blessedly over. Taking orders from a bunch of non combat pussies was fucking insulting. I clipped the end of my cigar off and lit it as I left the Pentagon to meet the doc at the marina.

Two of his pet soldiers were guarding him, but he'd left Lee with me. Probably here to make sure I didn't get sidetracked by some pretty bitch that was in need of punishment. It was unnecessary. I was saving it up…waiting for that perfect little vampire cunt to cross my fucking path again. But this time I'd get the upper hand. This time I'd have a little DNA boost. The good doctor had promised to enhance me as soon as we got the go ahead to set up a new laboratory and in my coat pocket I had such a fucking order.

There was a ship with our name on it already prepared with everything we needed to get the experiments underway; we just needed some fucking samples. That's where Sergeant Lee would come in. A Paranormal Convention was scheduled in Atlanta over the weekend. Amongst all the fucking freaks there would surely be a few real deal humans with supernatural abilities.

The only problem was that the convention had already suffered some mishaps while in Jacksonville. It'd been all over the news the last few days that some patrons of the convention had keeled over of natural causes. Natural cause my ass.

I squeezed myself in the Porsche and withdrew the orders from my pocket. "Project's been green lighted. Drop me at the fucking marina so you and the boys can get your asses down to Atlanta to replenish our inventory," I grunted as he read over the paper I held in front of him.

* * *

**Not sure how I feel about this chapter. It's probably one of my least faves and I'm not sure why. If you guys have any advice on how to strengthen it up a bit let me know. Thanks!**

**Sabrina**


	14. Chapter 14 Marie Laveau's House of Voodo

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Well, I guess I wasn't the only one who didn't care for the last chapter. I benefit from negative (kind, loving negative) feedback. I can't improve if you don't point out my faults. Please take a minute to jot down something; it really does help me with my writing. **

**Anywhoo…thanks to those who did comment. Your suggestions were very helpful and I'm already working some of them into this post. And thanks to my silent readers and for the alerts and adds. Makes my day when I log in and see all those emails in my in-box. Enough rambling, right? On with the story.**

**Oh, and my French sucks…so if I totally screwed it up feel free to correct me!**

**Chapter 14 Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo and Justin Too**

Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo stood out on the circular sign with its bold teal script. The few people loitering around the storefront all seemed to know one another and were all talking in hushed whispers, their nervous energy crawling over me, almost infecting me.

The gossip stopped as soon as Yasmin stepped out from behind me. I doubted that she could hear what they'd been discussing, but she seemed to know what was troubling them all the same.

The oldest woman of the bunch hobbled forward and pressed her hand to Yasmin's cheek muttering something under her breath that I could not decipher. "Cherie, we've been so scared for you." She took a few steps back and ran her gaze up and down Yasmin noting with a tick in her cheek and pursed lips, the bruises and abrasions that the clothes could not hide. "What have they done to you, Ma Cherie?" She tsked a few times and the rest of the women crowded forward peering intently at Yasmin before scrutinizing the rest of us.

I could feel the tremendous power oozing off of them.

"I'm alright now," Yasmin spoke softly. "Thanks to them," she motioned over her shoulder at me, Kayden, and Felix.

"I thought the same people who got my Davey got you too," the woman murmured, her eyes full of loss.

"What has happened to your son, Madame Blanchet?" Yasmin demanded and this time her power lashed at me like a mini whip and for a moment I thought I even saw the marks against my flesh, but as I inspected my arm closer, there was nothing to see.

A single tear slid down the old woman's hollow cheek and she motioned us to enter the store. "Not here where anyone can hear us. Let us do some shopping while we speak."

The store was dark and crammed with all manner of herbs, bones, dolls, and books. The woman working the counter stared in shock before composing her face and offering Yasmin a greeting in that same language that left me completely in the dark. "Felix, do you have any idea what they are saying?" I whispered, but my voice seemed to carry throughout the store and every pair of bemused eyes were suddenly concentrated on me. My face would have been crimson if I'd been human. I looked at my feet in embarrassment. Felix didn't seem fazed by their amusement and replied, "No idea. I know many languages, Bella, but it is something older and more primitive than what I've learned. There are some hints of French, but even that I cannot translate."

The old woman flashed me a sneering smile and said in her quavering voice, "_Démon de buveur de sang-"_

Yasmin gripped the woman's cloak in her fist and cut the woman's cross words off. "You will not address her so, Madame Blanchet. They are not of the same ilk as the _diable_ that slink through our streets at night and snatch innocents out of their beds. They rescued me at great risk to themselves. They are here in New Orleans at my invitation. I - Yasmin Laveau- vouch for them and that is all you need to know." Her voice thundered through the room and left no doubt who had all the power among the little group of practitioners; not to mention, the famed ancestry.

The women cowered in the wake of her fury, all except for the old woman who tried to look contrite, but failed, though she did tear her eyes from Yasmin and addressed me. "My sincerest apologies, _petite fille_." The grin on her face negated the words, but I wanted to get our shopping done, not bicker with old women who clearly had issues with vampires. _Blood drinker_, she'd called us. We were, so I wasn't terribly insulted, but apparently Yasmin found it to be quite offensive. I'd now graduated to _petite fille_- _little girl_. That bothered me far more than blood drinker, but I flashed her my best smile and accepted her apology laced with mockery.

Yasmin pulled a folded piece of paper out of her bra and handed it to me. "Take this to the woman and ask her to gather these items for me."

Kayden followed me to the counter where I handed the shopping, list to the young woman who looked more at home in a Playboy magazine than a voodoo shop with her platinum blond hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, her eyebrows penciled high framing radiant hazel eyes. The hand that took the list from me was delicate and tan with a blush of pink on her pointed talons. She read it over thoughtfully. I could imagine her piecing together what each ingredient would be used for and could tell she was troubled by some of the spells that Yasmin planned on using, but she nodded curtly and said in a thick accent, "Looks like we have everything in stock. I'll take care of this for you."

The women behind me were discussing Davey's death. His body had been found six days ago and had been declared a natural death, though all the women disputed that ruling vehemently. He was one of a handful that had gone missing over the last month. Ever since Yasmin had been abducted. But Davey was the only one whose body had since shown up. All of the missing persons were affiliated with the occult in one form or another. Sounded like the military to me.

"And Devon?" Yasmin asked in a small voice, all power hidden within her once again. She'd reverted back to the abused skeletal woman that appeared weak and frightened, but I'd seen the strength inside her and knew that I never wanted to make an enemy out of her. Woe be the man who tortured her, for if he ever crossed her path again, he would not find her meek and easy prey. No, he would pay for his sins in ways I couldn't even fathom.

"It's been nearly a week since he was in town," she replied.

"He's alive? A week ago?" Felix blurted out and I caught a hint of jealousy in those words. I guess his life would be easier if Yasmin's husband was dead. He'd gone out of his way to watch over her, but not interact with her since the night after we rescued her. He was fighting a losing battle trying not to get ensnared in her web. I think he even believed the lie he told himself until that moment when he realized that the rival for her affections was still a very real threat.

Yasmin's lovely face filled with hope. "He's aright then?"

"He was. We thought he ran across the same men that have been stalking our people."

"But he is not a practitioner. He has no magic. What could they possibly want with him? He is just a photographer," Yasmin reasoned.

"The woman behind the counter arrived with a basket and flicked a glance toward us before countering, "But he associates with you, Yasmin. Your heritage is no secret 'round here." She handed me the tattered basket and flinched when her scalding skin met my cold, hard flesh. She moved back as far as she could without walking through a wall and tore her frightened eyes from me. "As if that weren't reason enough, his mamma was blessed. Even his daddy had a touch of it. How your Devon managed to be void of all their gifts is a mystery."

Yasmin fished the gris gris out of her boot. The woman just would not carry a purse! Alice would have a conniption if she was to witness this. "This was left on my porch. Is it familiar to you?"

Madam Blanchet examined it before shaking her head; her brow creased with worry and muttered, "Marked…warnings of death," in broken French.

Once she calmed down and Yasmin hid the offensive grey bag again, she took Yasmin's hand in her wrinkled, sun-baked one and patted it lovingly. "You, Cherie, need to flee this place. Nadine is correct- your family heritage will mark you and they will come for you. Flee, Ma Cherie. Tell no one where you are going. I beg you…leave New Orleans before we have to place your young body in an early grave."

I could still hear them talking in the background, but I was seeing Yasmin back at her house gathering up her voodoo paraphernalia along with a few keepsakes and mementos.

The same man that I had seen in her memories was approaching the house quickly. He'd walked right past me and Kayden sitting in our car and took the steps two at a time.

--

**Justin POV**

Volterra was a tense place to be these days. Maybe it was always like this and I just hadn't noticed because Bella's presences blotted out all the negative vibes. Aro was beside himself with the mess that was taking place in the States. If he'd been shook up when the story about David broke over global TV, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now that he'd been briefed on the government's involvement. Carlisle and the rest of the Cullens had been ordered to the States to help Bella's team and the other Volturi guards that were policing the vampires, though if half of what I'd heard since I'd arrived a few days ago was true, they were doing more murdering, than policing, in the States.

Emmett barreled through the door with Rosalie in fast pursuit. "You better give that back, stud, or you're going to regret it."

"Nuh-uh." He paced behind my chair keeping me between them. "You gave this to me."

Anger flitted across her gorgeous face before she turned it into a seductive come hither smile, her eyes smoldering.

I could feel Emmett's indecision as he weighed his options. Give her what she wanted and get laid, or piss her off and spend some quality time with the hand. If I had a woman look at me the way Rosalie was looking at Emmett, I'd give back the item in question in a heartbeat, but Emmett just burst into a loud guffaw.

"Sorry, sweet cheeks. Not gonna happen. You're freaking crazy if you think I'm going to let you destroy my early Christmas present."

"Emmett," she growled.

"Now children," Carlisle admonished when he entered the room, his eyes sweeping over all of us. "We've got some business to discuss."

Emmett stuck his tongue out and shoved something down the back of his pants then plopped down into the chair to my left. I crisp crack filled the room as whatever Emmett had hidden was crushed by his weight when he sat on it. The look on his face sent me into a fit of laughter but it was nothing compared to the glee that Rosalie was experiencing. She was clutching her side in silent, heaving laughter at his heartbroken expression.

"No," he gasped and jumped to his feet pulling several pieces of a CD or DVD from his pants. He held them out to her like a child who broke his most coveted toy. "Tell me you made a copy, baby," he pleaded and she shook her head no as her body still quivered with her silent giggles.

When she caught her breath and could finally talk she said, "Look at it this way, hun, at least you got to watch it once. You have a vivid and long memory. It should get you through the nights. And just so you know…" she pushed him back into his chair and draped herself over his lap. "…Since you didn't give it up willingly…you're cut off."

Carlisle actually snorted and both of them fixed their odd golden eyes on him. "That's not really a threat, Rose, as you cannot go more than one day without molesting him," he chortled.

This right here was what I wanted. The way they interacted with each other. My family had never been like that. Dad was dedicated to one thing and one thing only-God. Mom was too busy working two jobs and running the house to bother with me and Laura. I couldn't believe that just months ago I'd been planning on following in my father's footsteps. I'd believed that Bella was the devil herself coming to steal my very soul, when in reality the best thing that had ever happened to me was Bella wrenching me out of my monotonous life and giving me the chance to belong to something more… something better.

Carlisle cleared his throat and sat down across from me with a gentle smile on his mouth. Something about that man just comforted me. I knew he and Bella had some issues and I was on Bella's side all the way, but he was a good man, and I longed to be a part of their family once things calmed down. "We have a long flight ahead of us. You can continue your little quarrel then," he chastised with an amused glint in his eyes before focusing on me. "You had something you wanted to discuss before we departed, Justin?"

"I want to join your team," I blurted out. Carlisle had made it clear that he, nor his family, would participate in the killing of innocents – humans or vampires - but they were eager to escape Volterra and if they had to spend some time tracking Dr. Anderson, then they'd gladly do it.

The problem was my name was not on that list of team members. It was hard enough being separated from Bella, but knowing that all of her family was helping her while I stayed behind twiddling my thumbs and sipping blood out of garish goblets didn't sit well with me. And to make matters worse, my mother had taken an interest in Aro. I really had no desire to watch him court my mom. The only time he didn't look like he was about to keel over with stress was when she was around.

"You only returned days ago. Do you really want to rush back there? You have not had time to rest since your captivity," he pointed out.

Esme joined us and patted my shoulder as she glided past to sit beside her husband who instantly wrapped his arm around her. It was as affectionate as I'd ever seen them.

"I don't _need_ rest. I _need_ to help Bella."

A small frown graced both of their lips and he questioned, "Need?"

I wished I'd chosen a better word. It sounded worse than it was. I felt restless when she and I were separated. It hadn't bothered me while I was held captive, but that's because I knew she was on the same continent and that she'd move heaven and hell to get to my side. Well, mine and Jasper's.

"Please don't make me beg. I can help. I can alter time and I-"

Carlisle cut me off. "I am well aware of your powers, Justin, and no one is disputing your usefulness…" he searched for just the right words to explain his hesitation, when Esme spoke up.

"We are hesitant because of your dependence on Bella. I'm sure you are aware of the state of her marriage. The last thing Edward needs is another male coming between him and Bella."

Her words sliced through me. I did not think of Bella in such a manner. Even though my own flesh and blood mother was somewhere in this old, drafty building, it was Bella who looked out for me. We both felt over protective of the other. She was having such a hard time right now. I hadn't wanted to leave when she suggested it, but I didn't want to be a source of stress to her either. I just wanted to make things easier for her and they were twisting that into something perverted by suggesting that I thought about her in a romantic way. She was to me what Carlisle and Esme were to the rest of the Cullen brood.

My distaste must have been clear for Carlisle hastened to say, "Esme is very protective of Edward. I realize that you are bound to Bella the same way Edward is bound to me and that you truly just want to help her. Of course you may assist us." Esme shot him a look before wiping all expression from her face and meeting my eyes with empty pools.

I jumped out of my chair already making a mental list of everything I needed to repack. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen." I was out the door in a flash and heading to the wing that housed our "prisoners". Bella would want to know how they were being treated especially since she negotiated with Aro to spare them for the time being in exchange for continuing the hunt for all those associated with the experiment.


	15. Chapter 15 Tainted

****

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Alright. Forget my earlier ramblings. It has been a rough week and I guess I was just a little overwhelmed. Anyhoo, I'm going to continue. I don't like leaving things undone and you guys deserve better than that. Still laying foundation here. I know it slows the pace down, but it is necessary. At least I think it is.**

**Chapter 15 Tainted**

I had my legs stretched out over Felix's thighs and Kayden was seated in the love seat to my right while Devon and Yasmin talked upstairs. Felix was pissed. Well, that was putting it mildly. If it wasn't for me using my powers on him, he'd probably be up there challenging Devon to a courtly duel over the fair maiden.

My cell vibrated and I flipped it open without checking the number. My visions weren't as frequent or as precise as Alice's so I was always caught by surprise when my phone rang.

"Hello."

Carlisle's voice filled my ear and shockingly I was pleased to hear from him. "Bella, we are on our way to meet up with you in New Orleans. We're in the air as we speak."

"Who's we?" I asked really hoping he meant the whole family. I was so eager to put the last few months behind me and go back to the way things were that I was willing to look past all the grief the family had caused me. Though, I hadn't quite gotten over my disappointment in Esme. Her actions toward me lately had really hurt me, but even that I was willing to forget. I guess screwing up as royally as I had gave me a new perspective. If Edward could forgive me for my gigantic mistake then I could forgive my family their much smaller mistakes.

"The whole family." he paused momentarily. "Alice and Jasper will meet up with us once they deliver Anna to Alyria. Plus, Justin is accompanying us. He was quite insistent."

I chuckled and felt my dead heart swell. I knew what Justin was feeling. Alice was my best girl friend, but Justin was my best guy friend. "I'm sure. It was hard sending him back, but I needed him to watch over David and company." I couldn't bring myself to refer to them as prisoners, even though Carlisle and I both knew that's what they were. I wasn't ashamed of my role in their lives when I was around my team, but knowing how Carlisle felt…well ashamed didn't begin to cover what I felt.

"Interesting," he muttered almost to himself. "The connection is not one sided then?" He asked, his voice full of worry.

I stamped down the trickle of irritation that began brewing in me at his words. "Carlisle," I sighed heavily. "I'm going to say this once so pass it along to everyone who seems to feel the need to interfere in my life- I am not romantically tied to Justin. We are close friends and will remain so whether you guys approve or not."

"And what if Edward doesn't approve?" he asked mildly.

"Well, that's just his own damn problem, isn't it?" I snapped. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just so damn tired and want this whole mess to be over with. Really, I'm thrilled that you guys are coming and your help is most welcomed."

Devon and Yasmin appeared at the foot of the stairs hand in hand and Felix tensed under the weight of my legs so I turned my powers up a notch. He rewarded me with a beatific smile.

"Got to go Carlisle. We've got company." I flipped it closed without waiting for a goodbye and directed my attention to the duo who sat opposite of us. Yasmin snuck a glance at Felix under her eyelashes to gauge his reaction, she looked terrified, but his happy demeanor, though fake, put her at ease and she relaxed against her husband's side, his arm wrapped protectively around her.

"I owe you everything," he began looking at each of us in turn.

I inclined my head to him, but kept quiet. I was dying to know what he'd been up to.

Felix, however, couldn't seem to keep his curiosity in check despite being saturated with my happy juice. "How ever did you escape those soldiers? Even our vampires were ensnared by them."

Devon shifted in his seat and fixed his gaze on Felix, studying him…or sizing him up? Did he know that Yasmin was his Singer? Or could he just feel the tension between them? I knew I could. It was thick enough to choke on. All the time. Being around them was exhausting. I wondered if the Cullens had felt like that around me and Edward, especially Jasper who was so much more sensitive.

"I've been explaining it to Yasmin. I was never attacked," he stated simply, and Yasmin flushed with embarrassment, her cocoa skin made all the more beautiful for the hint of pink. "I've been out of town on a photography assignment in South Africa for the last month."

Had the drugs really affected her that much? Her memories had seemed so vivid.

Still looking at her feet, Yasmin mumbled, "I don't understand." She raised her head and met his eyes. "You were home. I remember. We had dinner at Galatoire's and-"

He took her hand tenderly, concern wafting off of him in waves. "Yes love, the night before I left for Africa."

Tears sparkled in her eyes. Tears of anger and frustration.

"Did she show you the symbol on the bed?" I asked. I'd been trying to keep an eye out for intruders the whole time we were here, but they could easily sneak past my faulty visions.

He nodded. "Then you realize it is not safe for us to linger here. Will you be joining us back at Monteleone?"

He looked uncomfortable when he replied, "Uh, for the time being. But I have another assignment that I've already been booked for."

* * *

We'd spent the next few days getting to know one another. Devon was utterly fascinated by my extra abilities and proceeded to ask me question after question. I was beyond relieved that he was leaving us tonight. Not that he was a bad guy or anything, but I felt like I was under a microscope when he was around, not to mention that I had to exert a lot of power to keep Felix in line.

The three of them were more work than the US government at this point. Yasmin bounced back and forth. One minute she ignored Felix while she concentrated all of her attentions on Devon, then just as suddenly she would sneak over to Felix's room for late night conversations. Course, Kayden was with them, so I doubt anything more than talking took place.

I hung my damp towel up and straightened up my bathroom in a flurry. I was almost out of time. The vision I'd had while soaking in the violet marble tub had been very clear and my visitor would be here shortly. Panic gripped me as I flew through my room gathering my things. Christian's note caught my attention. I grabbed it out of my purse and placed it under the lining of my luggage were it would not be easily found. I still wasn't ready to read it. Maybe never would be, but right now was defiantly not the time to be caught pouring over it.

* * *

**Kinly**

The last of our samples had arrived. We had more to work with now than we had before our facility had been destroyed. I couldn't wait to get started. It was like Christmas morning for me. I had new toys to play with and I was getting the best present of all-DNA enhancement.

The good doctor had been hesitant. I do believe that asshole was fucking afraid of me. But I could be very persuasive. Just ask the ladies. I always made them do what I wanted and it's fucking easy. Too fucking easy. That's why I was going to enjoy every moment with my newest target. She would give me the hunt I craved. She would make me work for it and I was eager to get started.

Dr. Anderson boarded the small boat that would take us to our new floating facility. It was perfect. The vampires would never locate us at sea.

"Our crew arrived at our facility earlier this morning," he noted as he checked something off on his clipboard. "You will naturally be in charge of the two units of Green Berets and Navy Seals. Train them, brief them on vampires…" he paused as he looked over the woman at my feet who was bound in an awkward angle. He pushed his glasses up his nose and began, "Here. This is a list of our newest samples. Pick a few abilities and I will get to work on your DNA process."

I took the coveted piece of paper that was going to level the playing field slightly between me and that bitch of a vampire and read over the names and their powers. I mentally struck out all the shape shifters. There was no fucking way that I was going to become part animal. No fucking way. We'd salvaged some of the vampire DNA. That would definitely be a prerequisite. But I wanted more. That bitch had been able to do all sorts of magic. If I was going to have my way with her, I needed a few tricks up my sleeve.

I grabbed the small blond by her hair and dragged her below the deck. Couldn't properly enjoy her. I was saving that part for the vampire, but there was still a lot of fun to be had.

Dr. Anderson was at my side. "Leave me," I ordered, my body already tightening in excitement. My blood pulsed in my ears; I could barely hear her low whimpers over the rushing sound.

"Allow me to obtain a sample from her before you begin, Kinly."

I moved aside and methodically began unbuttoning my shirt. No need to get blood spattered all fucking over it. I draped it over the chair and grabbed my duffle bag full of necessary equipment and laid each piece out reverently. The woman's eyes widened with each knife that I set by the table. The doctor had barely sealed the jar when I grabbed him roughly and expelled him from the room, slamming the door closed in his startled face.

Weak fucking bastard. If I didn't need him, I'd have added him to my list of toys. Our superiors wouldn't like that, but there were other doctors.

I grabbed a toe tag and held it over her face with one hand as I removed her gag with the other. She didn't bother screaming. At least the bitch had some sense. "What name should I put on this?" I asked menacingly.

Dr. Anderson had all but given me permission to kill her by taking all the samples from her. She wasn't needed anymore. It was just a matter of time before she was nothing more than a fucking corpse and corpses wore toe tags.  
I wrenched her up by her hair and held her face close to mine. "Your name, bitch?"

"Je…Jessie," she stammered and I released her roughly, forcing the gag back into her mouth and mad a big production of writing her name and tightening the tag around her big toe.

Ah, there it was…the desperate crying as she realized that she would not leave this boat alive. Funny how long one can hold out hope and how something so fucking small as a piece of paper tied to her toe could dash all that hope away.

I loved and hated the sound of a woman crying. My mother had cried a lot. I'd been forced to watch the hideous things my father had done to her. She was my first lesson. She'd been a strong woman. Lasted several months at his hands…and mine. She was the first person I'd ever broken. It was an art, you see? My father had trained me well. Even though I'd loved my mother, I had been full of pride once I finally mastered her and received my father's warm approval.

She'd made the mistake of trying to protect me from him. Fucking idiot. People like that didn't deserve to live. She got what she deserved. I laughed darkly as I trailed the longest knife down little Jessie's body, easily cutting through her garments and revealing her fake tanned skin. She shuddered at the contact and little strangled sounds made their way past the gag.

I peered down at her and skimmed her cheek with the back of my hand. "I haven't even fucking started yet. Just you wait. I'll have your whole body quivering soon enough." I pulled my hand away from her face slowly, her eyes seemed to relax at the small motion then I smacked her with all my strength across her face, blood dripping from her swollen cheek and lips. Beautiful.

**Comments? Didn't really revise it too carefully. I read it over once, so if you catch something, let me know. I'll go back and fix it. And thanks MW for the help with the French. Already got next chapter ready. Post it tomorrow.**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	16. Chapter 16 The Queen

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**Chapter 16 The Queen**

I padded across my hotel room to the vanity to brush out my hair. If my newest vision was correct, then my surprise visitor would be strolling in any minute and I had no plans of playing fair.

I applied some lipstick and strained to hear every sound from outside while I examined my reflection. Perhaps lingerie would be better than complete nudity. Thanks to Alice I had a rather large selection of silk and satin little strappy things that probably cost more than what I was paying for this room.

I shimmied into the navy satin panties trimmed in black lace with garters and the matching bra before I laid back on the bed and slipped each foot into the thigh highs and fastened them.

My body began to overheat when I heard the footsteps in the corridor heading this way.

"Shoes," I muttered and frantically dug through the pile until I found the black dominatrix- like six-inch heels and buckled them hastily.

I groaned. What would he think when he walked in here and saw me like this? Would he think I was dressed up for someone else? Considering what I'd done to him it was likely. I shouldn't be pushing things. He wanted to take things slow. To start over, but that simply did not appeal to me. I had a God for a husband and I wanted to worship him, dammit.

I grabbed the matching robe and tied it tightly as the footsteps stilled outside my door and his scent drifted through the miniscule cracks around the frame. I inhaled it greedily and felt the warmth of desire pour through me. The key card slid in place and the lock clicked and still I did not turn around. I watched the door from the reflection in the mirror and my breath hitched when Edward quietly slipped through.

Damn! How had I gotten so lucky? The guy was more sinful than death by chocolate.

The only light was coming from the full moon through my window, but it was enough. He gasped in surprise when he finally noticed me standing at the back of the room and his eyes burned over me and the path they swept down my body was scorching and yet left me a trembling mess. A knowing smile tugged at his lips then and he said somewhat cockily, "You had a vision and decided change the rules, hmmm?"

"Rules, what rules? Can't a woman give her husband a proper welcome home?" Thoughts flew across his face. I could tell he was wrestling with his body and his mind. His body demanded that he go to me and claim me. Wash away all signs of Christian. Make me his in every way, but his mind warned him to go slow, to remember the pain I'd caused him. For a fraction of a second I considered using a bit of Alyria's talent, just enough to drown out his reservations, but knew that wasn't the way I wanted to start things off. Instead I stood there watching his reflection and waited for him to make up his mind. Though, I'd be well within my right to accidentally let my robe come untied and slip off of me, wouldn't I? My hand flicked out in a move a human would have missed and my robe cascaded to the floor at my feet and Edward swore lightly at the sight of my half naked body.

He cleared his throat and kept moving forward, but at a much slower pace. "If this is your idea of taking things slow…" his words faltered. "Turn around," he demanded in a voice that forced my obedience.

My chest was rising and falling sharply with nerves and desire as I slowly faced him. "Like this?" I asked playfully, though I wasn't feeling playful. I was hornier than ever and even with the dark look in his eyes I was sure that he was not going to give in and quench my thirst for him.

With his body mere inches from me, I could barely think, but I did have the sense to restrain my arms at my sides, my hands fisted so that I wasn't the one that made the first move. This had to be his decision. The heat emanating from him felt so good against my cool flesh; flesh that had yearned for his touch for far too long.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked with a real smile on his face. For one brief moment it was the old Edward, like my betrayal had never happened. Could it be that he had truly gotten past everything like he said at our last meeting?

"Whatever you want," I whispered, but I burned with embarrassment. I hated that I felt shame when I tried to be this way with him. When I'd been with Christian I'd been completely uninhibited and it had felt so damn good and right. I wanted that with Edward, but I couldn't imagine screaming out my darkest desires to him like I had with Christian.

"Whatever I want?" He asked and his hands reached for me then fell back at his sides and he took a few steps back leaving me cold and bereft. There was a hard glint in his eyes and he murmured, "You don't want to know the things I want to do to you, Bella."

I leaned back against the vanity and wished I'd left my robe on as it looked like we were going to waste more time talking when what we really needed was a good fuck. I pursed my lips as I considered his words. Was he still so angry that he wanted to hurt me? Was he afraid that he'd be too rough with me and like it? "Tell me," I finally said.

He shook his head slightly and reached down to grab my robe, bringing it to his face long enough to inhale my scent before tossing it to me and sitting on the bed.

I belted it closed and joined him, but left a nice big distance between us. Clearly he'd been very serious about starting our relationship over from the beginning. I don't know what was worse- the craving for sexual contact when I'd been a virgin and burned with a flame of the unknown or now knowing what I was missing out on with no way to fill the emptiness inside, to smother the fire that licked through me at the close contact with him.

He flashed me a smile and noted, "Your negotiation skills have vastly improved. You almost had me." He chuckled softly and fell back against the plush bedding his hand flashing out and encircling mine and dragging me with him. "But I have a hundred or so years of control to draw upon and won't be done in so easily, love." My hand sizzled where his lips brushed and my stomached clenched in response. The uncertainty, the nerves, it was like the first time all over again. "So, in your vision of us…did you happen to see your plan succeeding?" He bit at my knuckles playfully and I hated how my body responded to such a simple act, that he was completely aware of the effect he had on me. Was he not feeling what I was feeling? How could he be so in control, so unaffected? Just his scent was enough to put my body in hyper drive, why was mine not eliciting the same reaction?

In a shaky voice I replied, "All I saw was you on your way here. You know that I don't have very good control over that power. Even if I'd wanted to look further ahead, I most likely wouldn't have seen anything."

"Have you had any other visions of me?"

"No."

"No? None? You weren't checking in just to make sure that little Anna was behaving?"

"Should I have?" No, even if she wasn't I certainly did not want the memory stuck in my head for all eternity. It was bad enough that I'd witnessed their kiss.

"Aren't you curious?"

"If you have something to say, Edward, just say it," I grumbled, my mood dampened by the mere mention of Anna's name.

He suddenly rolled over, his body pressed so tightly against mine that I could feel every bone, every muscle. Yep, even the one that indicated that he was happy to be there. He took both of my hands in his and pressed them roughly against the bed above my head as he peered down at me. "Say it, hmm? Just like that? Well okay. Being around her was both the most amazing and most difficult thing I've ever done. Every moment of every day I was coated in her sexual desires. She was driving me mad. Everywhere I looked I saw you. Bent over the side of the tub, on the kitchen counters, on the porch swing, in the ocean. I've never wanted you so badly. She could pump me full of all the desire in the world, but it would never make me change the object of my affections, love. And now here you are in all your magnificent glory all but begging me to have my way with you. A Siren beckoning me into her rocky shore. And right now, I'm not sure I care if I crash among the rocks. It would be worth it to be inside you again."

His lips fell against mine hungrily, almost viciously, and I reveled in the roughness of it, of the fact that I could not easily free my arms from his hands. "These lips have haunted me," he mumbled against my mouth his tongue darting out and slipping past to slide against mine. I writhed against him loving the feel of all his arousal pressing against me and my body responded in kind as all the heat that his kiss had kindled inside me pooled low preparing me for things yet to come.

He broke the kiss abruptly, his breath haggard and began nibbling down my jaw. "Please Edward. Don't stop. I need this. I need you…" I panted when his hand skimmed over my breast. "Inside me. Please."

His tongue laved at the hollow of my throat. "You can beg all you want, love, but I'm in control tonight. Though, I must admit I love the sound of the word please falling from those sinful lips. So feel free to keep pleading."

Bastard! And yet I liked the game he was playing. My body was wound so tight, that it would take very little to milk an orgasm from me. One way or the other I was going to get that blessed release. So what if it wasn't the result of sex. At this point I did not care. I just wanted the burning desire to melt away and my muscles to relax.

His teeth bit gently at my neck and the wash of venom added to the fire already consuming me. The sound that escaped my open mouth was unlike anything human. It was all animal and I found myself struggling against his hands. I actually raised them up briefly before he slammed them back down and met my eyes with a look that promised wish fulfillment. "A new approach I see?" He mused. "No more begging." He mock pouted and I erupted in giggles. A pouting Edward was a very cute Edward. His own masculine laughter joined mine and he released my arms and wrapped them around him as he sat up pulling me onto his lap.

"Damn, you are good. I forget myself when I'm near you. You almost had me again." He pressed a soft kiss against my lips then spilled me onto the bed. "Get dressed, woman. We're going out. Since I cannot trust myself alone with you, then we must surround ourselves with lots of people, you naughty temptress." He smirked as he went through my closet and picked out a blue sequin dress that would barely cover my ass.

"Here, this goes with everything you have on already." His gazed swept to my feet taking in the many buckles that were on my shoes and I could feel his lust beating at me. He'd been containing those feelings earlier, but now he let me see how much he hungered for me. "I like these. Did Alice pick them out?"

I laughed because they'd actually been a gift from Aro of all people. If it was black or grey then it had come from Aro. "Nope." I modeled my feet for him. "You like?"

"Very much." He closed the distance and yanked me up from the bed and slipped the dress over my head. There were slits from shoulder to wrist exposing hints of my pale flesh along with the deep V and the massive amount of leg it revealed.

"I'm not sure this outfit is going to help you in your pursuit to torture me with your ridiculous ban on sex, but hey, I'm willing to give it a go." I kissed his chin then grabbed my coat. Not that I'd be cold, but it was December. One generally wore a coat in the middle of winter. Must fit in with all the little humans.

I couldn't believe with everything that was going on, that I was going out for the night, but the murder and mayhem would be there in the morning. I needed the night off and what better way to spend it?

Felix, Yasmin, and Kayden were already in the parking lot waiting for us. I shot Edward an inquisitive look and he just smiled all the more broadly. He'd invited them as a buffer…they were there to cock block me. Whatever irate look was on my face greatly amused both Edward and Felix.

"Yasmin mentioned a club that our kind generally frequents. Thought we might check it out," Edward explained as he led me to his silver Volvo. God, I'd missed this car and all the good memories that went with it.

"You think it's a good idea to take two humans into a vampire hang out?" I asked incredulously.

He sighed and shook his head. "Bella." His eyebrows high indicating that I was obviously missing something. "You're the scariest vampire around. All of our kind knows of you. Do you really think any of them want to challenge you for a couple of humans? New Orleans is crawling with people. They can get their food anywhere. They don't need to step on your toes in the process."

"And it doesn't hurt that the Volturi are scouring the States and killing every vampire in sight," Felix added.

"What?" I looked back and forth between them.

The resigned look on Felix's face let me know that I was not going to be happy and that he was not exaggerating. "Apparently now that the government is involved Aro has decided that the best way to thwart them is to make sure that they no longer have a source of vampire DNA to work with. He is exterminating all the vampires-young and old- in this region."

Edward placed his hand on my trembling one and his cold calm seeped into me. "The vampires on other continents are faring much better. He only intervenes with them if they break his new mandates." He opened the car door for me. "So you see, everyone knows that you are a member of the Volturi guard-"

Felix interrupted, "They're scared shitless of you."

"Well, not exactly how I would have phrased it, but yes, they fear you." He leaned forward and brushed a kiss against my temple. "Did you know that they refer to you as their queen?" I pushed him away and sat heavily in the sumptuous leather seat that molded to me perfectly and slammed my door shut. Queen? Great, just what I needed. I was now vampire royalty.

* * *

The club was beneath a regular human karaoke bar. Where the upper floor was well lit and decorated in bright colors, the lower floor was black with mirrored walls. Violet light illuminated it softly and hid most of the activities taking place in dark corners.

An all vampire band was on stage and my thoughts immediately went back to Alyria, Kattra, and Christian the first time I'd seen them perform. Well, technically, I'd only really noticed Alyria as she was feeding on our sexual energy and had captured our attention.

The lead singer had a white-blond mohawk and the lights playing on his skin gave him an eerie glow. He was clad in black leather pants that looked poured on him and a black mesh shirt that didn't so much hide his flesh as accentuate it. His gaudy belt buckle had parted lips with a hint of fangs which brought a smile to my face.

There were humans here and I'd bet my last meal that they were well aware of what we were. Each one seemed to belong to a specific vampire. I wondered if they would live to see the dawn and then wondered at the fact that I didn't really care one way or the other. What had become of Isabella Swan? Because whoever I was, I was no longer that girl.

Edward slid my coat from me and handed it to a female vampire and led me to the dance floor. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked over the loud music.

His hands bit into my waist as he pulled me firmly against him, my own hands automatically winding around him for balance and he began grinding sensuously against me in time with the music. "I already told you. I can't trust myself alone with you." His lips captured mine and I forgot how to speak let alone carry on an intelligent conversation. Right then all I wanted was to throw him against the wall and do all the things I'd fantasized about over the last month. It really took very little to arouse me these days. I walked around in a constant state of sexual frustration. I knew that if I played my cards right tonight, that he'd alleviate the dull ache. Maybe not exactly how I'd like him to do it, but beggars can't be choosers, and I'd take whatever I could get.

When the kiss ended I caught sight of Felix watching us intently and Yasmin, though talking to Kayden at the bar, was staring at Felix with a look of utter longing etched into her face.

Devon had convinced her to let me heal her, so she no longer bore the many bruises on her lovely face, but there was nothing I could do to salvage her shaved head or the brand she bore on the back of it. Instead of hiding her bald head, she kept it completely smooth and shined and somehow managed to look like a short runway model. She looked absolutely stunning in a vanilla leather dress and gold shoes. In fact, she was garnering many looks of longing from the vampires mingling nearby, but so far, Felix and Edward had been right, no one approached them.

I'd felt their fear upon my arrival, but when I didn't do anything more than practically rape my husband on the dance floor, the fear evaporated and all that was left was the natural sweet stench of vampires mixed with a hint of human blood and cigarettes.

Felix followed my gaze right to Yasmin and I saw his chest move with the force of the air that gushed from him. Though I was aware of Edward's body moving against mine, I couldn't help but be distracted by Felix and Yasmin. He glided across the floor to the bar, his eyes never leaving hers. Kayden had fallen silent. I actually felt bad for the man. It was clear that he was smitten with Yasmin too. The poor woman had more men than she knew what to do with. I could sympathize.

He held out his hand in a very old world gentlemanly fashion and spoke quietly to her before she took it tentatively and he led her onto the dance floor.

Meeting Devon had certainly pushed Felix into action. I knew that he planned on pursuing her despite the fact that she loved her husband. Prior to meeting Devon, Felix had been keeping a safe distance from her; happy to let Kayden cater to her, but no longer. From the look in her eyes right now, I'd say she was pretty happy with the way things were playing out.

Edward's hands slid down further and cupped my ass. "I've been without your attention for far too long, Mrs. Cullen. Shall I remind you how interesting I can be?" His hands slid down over the silk of my thigh-highs then he reversed the movement and his hands now brushed over the tops of my bare thighs. I gasped, my legs turning to jelly at the feel of his hot skin touching mine in such an inappropriate manner. Well, inappropriate public behavior. Still swaying suggestively to the music he guided me further into the crowd and his hands slipped under the hem of my short dress, just tracing the edge of my panties.

I almost slapped him and pulled away. God knows he had to be flashing my ass to everyone in the vicinity, but the heat in his eyes kept me from acting foolishly. Instead I stopped dancing and leaned all my weight against him feeling the hard length of him straining against his black slacks and I fed on his mouth. I barely had enough sense to not wrap my legs around his waist and let him feel the fire burning at the junction of my legs.

"That's more like it," he breathed and pressed me against the back mirrored wall. We were in one of the darker corners now and I wondered how far he planned on taking this in a public place and if I even cared. Yeah, I cared. He was counting on it, I was sure. This was just more of the same torment he'd decided to inflict on me.

His mouth trailed down my neckline while his finger slid under the lace of my underwear and teasingly swept close to my core before fleeing. "Edward, you're killing me. I swear I'm going to go up in flames in a minute."

He looked up from my chest and the look was a touch angry and a lot possessive. "Good. I want you out of your mind with desire for me. Me! Because you, love, are mine." His finger played over my nub and I moaned loudly, my hips moving closer to him begging him for more. A firmer touch, faster…anything. "When I make love to you, Bella, it'll be me you desire above all others." His other hand caressed my breast through my dress and my head fell back exposing my throat as a groan drifted from it. His mouth clamped over my neck and his finger entered me at the same time.

My eyes shot open as I looked around to see if any was watching, but they seemed caught up in their own pleasure. "Edward, what the hell are you doing? We can't do this here," I chastised breathlessly which made it a very ineffective protest.

He slipped another finger into me and began working me by hand and my objections just didn't seem that important anymore. I was on the brink of the orgasm that had been eluding me when another vampire peered over Edward's shoulder, a cocky grin on his face, and interrupted, "Just thought you should know that your human pet has made friends with Arial." Edward, panting from his own brand of torture, stilled his hand inside me but did not withdraw. I followed the vampire's eyes to a table on the left side of the room where Kayden was locked in a passionate embrace with a red haired vamp.

I flashed a scathing smile at the man that had interrupted my fun and thanked him. He chuckled darkly as he turned away. Was it terrible of me to want to blow Kayden off? She wasn't hurting him, far from it. He didn't look unhappy at all, but these vampires were not like us and had no qualms of sating their hunger whenever the urge struck.

"Dammit all to hell," I muttered as Edward finally withdrew his damp hand from me.

"Don't look at me like that," I hissed when Edward gave me a look of utter frustration. "You started this. You insisted we come to a public place and bring chaperones, so I don't want to hear one thing from you." I planted a kiss on his lips so he knew I wasn't really mad, just unfulfilled and crossed the bar to save Kayden. I probably wasn't going to get a big thank you for this either.

As I reached them, her nail slit his arm open and she bowed her head to his arm and drank deeply. My body went rigid as the smell of his blood assaulted me. I no longer wanted to save him; I just wanted to eat him. I tore my eyes from him and caught sight of Edward watching me in the mirror, waiting to see how far gone I was. Surely my crimson eyes told him just how much human blood I'd been living on recently. I forced myself to reach down and pat the woman on the back of her head. She looked up with blood tinged lips and Kayden moaned softly as his head lolled back against the wall.

"Sorry, he's off limits. He's with me."

She stood to her full towering height and sneered at me. It was sort of odd that any of them would risk feeding openly on humans when they knew that one of Aro's people was among them.

"He did not object," she stated in a high pitch child-like voice that grated on my nerves.

"I'm sure he didn't, but I do."

"And what of it? Why should I care what Aro's whore objects to?" Aro's whore? Hmmm.

"Because I'm authorized to slaughter you where you stand," I offered with a half smile. I was aware of Felix sidling up behind me, but a quick look in the mirror showed me that Edward had remained frozen in his original spot.

She leaned forward using her height to look intimidating. "Authorized?" she scoffed. "Just because you are allowed does not me you can."

Edward's reaction was bugging me. It was like he was testing me. Somehow I thought he'd be disappointed if this ended in blood, so to speak. I sighed. "Look, go out and find yourself any other human. I'll look the other way even though my orders are to destroy any vampire feeding off of a human," I reasoned.

She threw her head back and laughed a tinkling laugh which was harder to bear than her voice. "How magnanimous of you." She traced her nail under my eye. "Will you kill yourself for breaking the rules?"

I smirked at her and grabbed her hand roughly letting her feel my newborn strength. "It's good to be Queen."

Her eyes widened and the stench of fear finally erupted from her.

"You should probably leave," I added after a long pause.

She made a move to do just that, but she caught sight of the audience we'd attracted. Hell, even the band had quit playing and I hadn't even noticed. Her pride would not allow her to leave now that she realized that our skirmish was being witnessed by everyone in the club.

Damn. I knew that she was going to make me fight and I knew that Edward wanted me to find an alternative, so I cheated. I pumped her full of Jasper's power and watched the anger melt away only to be replaced with calm happiness.

"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" She nodded, a huge grin on her face, our argument forgotten and I scooped Kayden up and passed him to Felix. "Get them home," I ordered. He nodded curtly and hastened to get them out of the club. I really loved that about him. He didn't question me, just acted. Made things much easier.

I couldn't leave, I'd look weak and frightened and I was neither. I could keep the flow of Jasper's power constant until I left, or I could…get her kicked out? I wanted to focus on Edward, not Ariel, so I found the owner of the establishment and threatened him just enough get Ariel tossed out. I reined in my power and watched as he escorted her off the premise along with several bouncer-like vamps then went back to Edward who greeted me with a warm smile and open arms.

"So, where were we?" I asked innocently and his trademark crooked grin lit up his face.


	17. Chapter 17 Addicted

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Two words-Writer's Block! This is my 7****th**** try at this chapter, but I think I've finally pushed through my roadblock. I'm trying to be less serious. Comedy, jovial scenes are not my thing, so trying to incorporate that into my stuff is not working out too well for me. **

**Chapter 17 Addicted**

"Oh would you put something on?" I asked in exasperation as Edward padded across the room shirtless with unbuttoned jeans that drew my gaze somewhere it didn't need to be focused on at the moment.

He flashed a quick smile, but made no move to hide his phenomenal physique. He loved the effect he had on me and was shamelessly using it to his advantage now.

He'd teased me all night leaving me feeling edgy and very unsatisfied. No sex. That was his new rule. Last night had to be the longest night of my freaking life. His hot body within touching distance, his wicked scent overwhelming me…yes, a very long night indeed.

"You're one to talk," he said as he flopped down on the bed and handed me some clothes. "Two can play your game," he snickered.

"Very true." I nodded solemnly. "But I had every intention of finishing what I started. You, my evil husband, have no intention of having your way with me."

His lips glided over my leg taking little nips here and there. He glanced up at me with his dark pools of desire. "I have all sorts of intentions where you are concerned, love."

Emmett banged on our door with such force that it shuddered. "Enough screwing around you two! Get your butts out here." He chuckled darkly. "You do know that we can hear _everything_, right?"

They had arrived half an hour ago, but Edward didn't seem to be in a hurry to greet them. I heard Felix's deep voice bantering with Emmett, so I guess he had decided to take over the hosting duties. You know things were uncomfortable when a man like Felix would rather entertain guests than spend one more minute locked in a room with the woman of his dreams.

Edward's hand tightened around my calf and gave an abrupt jerk causing me to slide smoothly over the satin sheets to line our bodies up properly, his lips mere inches from mine.

"Edward," I gasped. "We don't have time for this."

"Make time," he ordered before his mouth found mine. For a few seconds I was so caught up in the feel of him with me again that I gave myself over to him completely, but when I heard Rosalie's lush laughter I pushed against him with so much force that I knocked him off the bed.

I bit my lip to hide my smile and turned away from the look of surprise on his face as he sat on the floor and continued to get dressed. "You know," I glanced over my shoulder at him as he yanked a button-down shirt roughly from its hanger in his embarrassment, "you'd do well to remember that I'm stronger than you." I zipped up my jeans and smoothed out my sweater before stalking him with a predatory glint in my eyes. "That if I really wanted to, I could have my way with you and you'd be powerless to stop me." I giggled. He was watching me warily and taking small steps away from me. "Hmmm, actually I do want to. But…" my voice trailed off as a slow smile brightened my face. "I wouldn't want to bruise your ego. I've heard that men have trouble getting it up when they're intimidated."

He was torn between irritation and lust all of which was tinged with a heavy dose of embarrassment at my remark. Seemed I was really good at stirring up opposing emotions in him lately. I glimpsed a vision of him putting me in my place and I ran a few second before he'd decided to act and raced out the door to the safety of my family. I planted myself firmly between Felix and Justin and stared innocently at my glowering husband completely confident that I was protected from any further retaliation while in the presence of Esme. I guess one should never joke about impotence; he did not look amused.

Emmett clapped Edward's shoulder, his face full of concern. "Man, Edward, I didn't realize you were having problems in that…area." He flicked a glance at the area in question then at me, amusement etched into his face. "Erectile dysfunction is no laughing matter."

"Emmett," Esme reprimanded sharply, her eyes downcast, her discomfort palpable.

Rosalie chuckled then put on her most concerned face. "Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry, you poor thing. This must be so _hard_," her sympathetic face slipped and more giggles escaped from her perfectly red lips, "for you."

Edward flung Emmett's hand off of his shoulder and hissed a string of profanities and would have been scarlet if he'd had the blood to blush. He pointed a finger at Rosalie, "You…be quiet." He set his unamused gaze on Emmett. "And if you're not nice, I'll make Bella arm wrestle you," he warned as he grabbed my hand and yanked me away from the safety of Felix and Justin and set me on his lap across from Esme and Carlisle.

"Some bodyguards you turned out to be," I snickered at Justin and Felix who just put up their hands in a display of innocence.

"Hey, we're staying out of this. Just talking about erectile dysfunction…" he shuddered. "Well, I have no desire to jinx myself. Not chancing it, my lady. Not even for you," Felix stated, a frightened expression on his gorgeous face.

"Bella," Edward hissed in my ear. "You better fix this."

I erupted in giggles and whispered quickly back, just the barest of movements of my lips, "Do you really want me to prove…" I wiggled slightly in his lap, "…that it works just fine?" Laughter filled the room from all corners.

He leaned his head against mine breathing deeply in order to keep from strangling me most likely. "Are you trying to kill me, love? Because I think I'm about two more comments from dying of embarrassment?"

Carlisle interrupted, thankfully. "As intriguing as this all is, perhaps we could move onto something more pleasant," he suggested.

Esme clapped her hands together looking giddy. "Yes, like Christmas shopping. We have lots to do and very little time to do it."

"Or," Carlisle interjected, a smile tugging at his lips, "We could find Dr. Anderson and hand him over to Aro so we can finally go back to New Hampshire."

A light knock at the door silenced us. Yasmin…and her husband. I could smell their delicious aroma and suddenly found myself ravenous.

Carlisle was studying my face; I could only imagine how black my eyes must have been right then. He asked as Justin went to answer the door, "When did you last hunt, Bella?"

I didn't have to heart to tell him that I'd gorged on human blood the day we'd destroyed the facility. Goodness, had it really been that long?

It wouldn't have mattered if I'd feasted on ten animals just last night, the smell of human blood negated it and left me famished. I was like a drug addict now, except I couldn't stop taking my drug, I needed blood to survive, so kicking the human blood habit was going to be a bit trickier, but I had plenty of incentive now. I so did not want Edward, or Carlisle for that matter, to witness that shameful deed. I was done disappointing this family.

I forced the hunger aside and directed my attention to the two humans very aware that I had not answered Carlisle's question. "Devon," I smiled welcomingly, though a bit curiously. He was supposed to be on another photography assignment. "What a surprise."

He shrugged as much as he could with his arm wrapped protectively around Yasmin who was staring intently at the floor. Her emotions bombarded me. There was no doubt that she adored her husband and loved him beyond measure, but another piece of her screamed for Felix, which only served bring on a rush of guilt.

"Schedule change. I'm leaving in a few days," Devon mentioned conversationally as he took a seat on the stiff, high-back chair closest to me.

I introduced everyone and settled in for some idle chit chat. It was a relief not having some fire to put out.

"Oh, before I forget…" Esme glided to her luggage that was shoved in the corner of the room. Carlisle had already rented a mansion and we would all be moving there for the time being. It would be nice to have some privacy, and being down south, even in winter where the sun shone most of the time, the big house would feel less like a prison. My idea of fun did not involve being stranded in a hotel room from morning to night. The place was completely secluded, so we would not be limited to the confines of the house. Not much in the way of woods, so hunting would be difficult. I guess there were always alligators. I bet Emmett was looking forward to that.

She pulled a thick manila envelope out and handed it to me. "I had the mail forwarded to Volterra," she mentioned as she took her seat.

Charlie's illegible scrawl tore through me. I kept trying to convince myself that I hadn't been hurt by his actions, but clearly I'd failed miserably. My stomach twisted as I ripped it open and quickly read through his brief note. I tucked it away and flipped through the pictures of Charlie and the La Push gang at his wedding. Though my heart was dead, I still felt a deep ache there, my throat tightening as I fought back tears I couldn't cry. I handed them to Edward and left the room trying to get my emotions under control. I would not allow myself to fall apart over this. I knew when I decided to become a vampire that I would be cutting myself out of my family's life. So it was happening a little faster than I'd anticipate. I should be pleased that my father was happy again and had people around him that cared about him and loved him.

I don't know how long Edward stood behind me, his arms wrapped lovingly around my waist, but I only now noticed his presence. "You alright?" he brushed his lips against my hair and I nodded.

"I am now. I guess I was just caught off guard." I turned in his arms and rested my head against the hollow of his neck. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Being here. Loving me. Being wonderful. Take your pick," I mumbled against him.

* * *

When I finally was composed enough to go back into the main room they were all still passing the pictures around. Devon glanced up at me. "Your father knows what you are?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Edward and I reclaimed our seat with me draped over him since he seemed loath to let me go.

"And your mother? Is she aware?"

I shook my head, not feeling up to playing twenty questions, but Devon had no intention of letting up. He was a chatterbox. Perhaps he'd chosen the wrong profession when he decided to work behind the camera; he'd have made a great reporter.

"She believes you're dead then?"

I let out a frustrated breath of air and replied tersely, "No. She thinks I'm off enjoying my husband like any other newlywed. Why the sudden interest in my family?"

He shrugged and went back to examining the pictures. "Who are they?" He asked pointing to a picture of Charlie, Sue, Seth, Leah, and Demetri. I gave him a quick run down, but for every fact I gave him, he asked two more questions. Honestly, I had no idea how Yasmin put up with him. Maybe he spent the majority of his time at exotic locations.

Felix, who up till recently was not a smoker, grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his inside coat pocket and strode from the room after Devon had bestowed several chaste kisses against Yasmin's almost unresponsive lips. My eyes followed him then were drawn back to Devon when he tried to conceal his laughter.

"For the record-" I interrupted his inner gloating,"- it is generally unwise to pull the tail of a tiger…or in this case to taunt a vampire," I warned. Yasmin's lovely eyes widened at the threat. "If you keep screwing with him, he's eventually going to run out of patience. What will you do then?"

"Point taken," he replied, his tone one of remorse. Once sure he'd been forgiven he continued asking his endless questions.

It bugged me that he was so interested in my life. He wanted to know where Charlie lived, why he was so acceptable of my vampirism…the list went on and on.

"So, she's in Florida. Must be hard to be so close and not see her," he murmured. Yasmin touched his leg gently, a warning to shut up, I think, and he placed the picture gently on the coffee table. "Mind if I use your bathroom?" I nodded my head toward the hall and was relived when he left.

The air swirled where he passed and hit me with the force of a rampaging Emmett, my body stiffened and Edward tightened his grip on me whispering soothingly against my ear. A fine tremble coursed though me. I'd gone too long without feeding. I was going to have to go out tonight or I would be unable to be around Kayden and Yasmin.

"Bella," Yasmin's low voice slid over me like warmed oil. Not what I needed. Her forehead creased in concern and she asked, "Are you okay?" I closed my eyes and quit breathing. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had so much trouble around a human. I shook my head, but didn't have the breath to verbally respond to her question.

Justin hopped up. "How about we get you something to drink," he offered Yasmin who hesitantly got to her feet, her eyes locked on me until he placed his hand against the small of her back and escorted her from the room along with the bulk of her enticing scent.

Rosalie gracefully crossed the room to sit on the arm of our chair and smiled tentatively, trying to distract me. "Alice will be here tomorrow, you know?" She brushed a few strands of hair from my face. "The three of us will go do something fun. Let the guys do the tracking, what do you say?"

"As long as your idea of fun equates to Christmas shopping," Esme chirped. "I have to get our new place in order and you girls are going to help me." I loved them for pretending that I wasn't about to fall off the wagon…again. They just kept discussing their trivial plans and it did help a little, because it had given me something else to worry about.

I looked at Edward, fearful that we would once again be separated. He seemed to pluck my concerns right from my mind, though I knew he couldn't possibly have unless I projected my thoughts to him.

"Don't worry, love. I'm not going anywhere…even if it means endless hours of shopping with Rose and Alice." He grinned widely and I felt a string of tension within me unravel and I relaxed against him.

Edward, who was usually excited by the prospect of a fight, was going to stay behind and suffer through girlie stuff. The same Edward who I had to manipulate into hiding out with me while his family fought Victoria and her newborn army, was game for shopping; I never thought I'd see the day.

The door banged open and the smell of cigarettes filtered through the room as Felix shot me an inquisitive glance. Apparently everyone could see my weakness plainly. He looked as though he had something to say, but after examining my fragile state, he'd decided to put it off.

Yasmin had just returned to her chair when Devon sauntered past us shooting a disgusted look in Felix's direction who scowled back, an almost inaudible growl rumbling from deep within. "You ready, Yazzy?" He whispered as he leaned over her. She glanced back and forth uncertainly between Felix and Devon then sighed softly and grasped his hand. Even when I'd rescued her she had a certain strength about her, but around Devon she was a meek submissive thing. I definitely did not like the effect he had on her.

"It was wonderful meeting all of you," Devon spoke eagerly to the Cullens and hurried out the door taking their mouthwatering aromas with them. It took everything in me not to follow them out that door. If Edward hadn't been using all of his strength to restrain me, I think I might have gone.

Searching for a distraction my eyes fell to the pile of photos on the table. The first one had been the picture of Leah, Demetri, Sue, Dad, and Seth, but it was no longer on top of the pile.

"Want to call it a night?" Edward asked, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"Anxious to get past your _little_ problem, eh?" Rose teased trying to lighten the mood.

Emmett winked at me. "No worries, Bells, you can just use Alyria's power on him and he'll be standing at attention before you know it!" You could always count on Emmett and Rosalie to get your mind off of things. The lust for blood died down as Edward's embarrassment hit me. I grinned at his obvious discomfort.

"Do you see what you've started? This could go on for years," he whined as he stood holding me in his arms and whisked me off to our bedroom.

**Please review. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. It was such a struggle to write this chapter. I think it's just because there's so many characters to deal with. Thanks for reading!**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	18. Chapter 18 Come Undone

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: You can probably tell from the title that I have been, for reasons beyond me, listening to Duran Duran. Yeah, anyone remember them? LOL. Probably not. Anywhoo, it fit. Thanks for all the reviews and adds and stuff. It's really the best therapy. Nothing like having a bad day and finding such positive comments. Thanks.**

**Some of this had to be told from Felix's pov. I had so much fun with it. He gets far more pages that Edward. Sorry. But I've said it before, Edward and I don't get along. He's impossible for me to write. You'd get a bunch more action if Christian was around *grins***

**Chapter 18 Come Undone **

I was completely out of control. The need for blood was only eclipsed by my need for Edward. The fact that most of my family would be able to hear everything that happened in here did not faze me; I was still wrapped in Edward's arms, and I'd made up my mind to have him one way or the other.

He set me on my feet and started to back away, but I gripped him tightly drawing his face down to mine, my tongue sweeping across his lips before plunging inside to slide along his tongue. He responded like a starved man with an almost animal sound escaping his throat, his strong hands tangling in my hair welding us together, mine working furiously to unbutton all the damn buttons. I let out a frustrated sound and ripped his shirt open, buttons spattering around us.

It seemed to snap him out of his lust induced moment of insanity and he pulled back slightly, his mouth still trailing softly over my face, my jaw, my chin, before claiming my lips once more. "Bella, love, you need to hunt," he panted, lips whispering gently against mine. Clearly, if he could form complete sentences, I was not doing a good enough job. I did something I swore I'd never do after my night with Christian, I opened my mind to him so he could see what he did to me, how crazed I was by his touch, how badly I needed him; not just for sex, but for the connection that had been severed even before I left for Volterra all those months ago.

Images of all the things I wanted to do to him filled his mind and he swore under his breath, while his body gave away his secret desires. I could feel him swell long and hard against my stomach and a satisfied grin lit my face. Erectile dysfunction my ass. His equipment worked just fine when his logical brain wasn't mucking things up.

"God, the things you do to me." He slid his hands down my ribs and I felt myself melt as I was consumed by the feel of him slipping his warm hands under my shirt to scorch me from hip to just under my breasts, where he traced back and forth enticingly, but made no sign of fondling anytime soon. His hand stilled as he locked his black gaze to mine. "You are ravenous, Bella. Let's hunt and then…" He trailed off, his eyebrows wiggling suggestively. It was a good offer. A practical offer. It almost guaranteed that I was finally going to get laid, not to mention that I'd get to cool the fire burning in my throat, but I didn't want to be practical. He had other things that could be shoved down my throat and it was presently pressed very tightly against me. That was all I was interested in. Blood shm-ood. I needed something a bit more solid.

"Ravenous for you," I moaned and whisked my shirt away while grabbing his hand to guide it to my chest. He inhaled sharply as he skimmed over the swell of my lace clad breasts with only the barest bit of fabric separating his smooth palm from my soft, ivory flesh. "Make love to me, Edward," I pleaded as my hands found their way to his zipper. "Make me feel again." My hand gripped his hardness and he shuddered against me and a low growl trickled from those heavenly lips. "I want to feel all of this inside me. Now." I slipped out of his grasp and fell to my knees while sliding his clothes the rest of the way down, my lips kissing and suckling across his defined hip bone.

I lifted my face to him taking in his eyes full of want and waited for permission. As much as it would pain me, if he truly was not ready for this I wouldn't force the issue no matter what my previous plans had been.

His hands framed my face and we stayed there like that for an interminable minute, him hunched over slightly to bore into my eyes, me on my knees. He nodded and guided my head to him. My tongue stretched out and lapped at him teasingly before I took all of that steel encased silk into my mouth. His fingers convulsed in my hair, "You have no idea how I've wanted this," he murmured.

A real verbal reply was out of the question as my mouth was otherwise engaged, but my words flitted through his mind along with the image of him taking charge of this act, making it about him and not me. I wanted him to control the movements, the pace

"No," he shook his head back and forth. I saw in his thoughts- how wrong he thought it was, how degrading to women.

I slammed the door on my mind, because thoughts of Christian towering over me were suddenly surrounding me. Hell, with my power over memories, I had more than just the visual. I could smell his fragrant scent; taste his hard flesh while he plunged into my mouth again and again.

I withdrew from him and sat back on my feet, afraid to look at him. Had he caught the barest trace of that stupid thought before I kicked him out of my mind?

He moved soundlessly. One moment his feet were in my field of vision as I stared at the floor and then they were gone. The bed creaked as he sank into it, a long exhale filling the silence.

I rolled my bottom lip over my teeth hoping that he would break the awkward silence. I certainly didn't have anything to say, except that his constraints on our sex life were getting tedious and that he needed to let go of his antiquated ideas of what was acceptable bedroom behavior and what was not. We were no longer stuck in the early 1900's and I was frustrated to no end that he couldn't seem to comprehend that.

"Do you have any idea what this is like for me?" He finally asked in a very controlled voice. He was mad. Livid maybe. He couldn't have seen much, I acted within a millisecond of the first wayward thought. When I didn't answer or acknowledged him in anyway, he continued, "I want to please you, Bella…but I don't know how to be what you want me to be. Men of my time were raised differently. A respectable gentleman simply did not mistreat women in such an offensive manner."

I groaned at his choice of words, but internally sighed in relief that he was only bothered about my fantasies and not Christian. Maybe Yasmin knew a spell that could make me forget him entirely? It was worth a shot.

I glared at him, feeling embarrassed that something that turned me on more than almost anything, was deemed '_offensive'_. "Who the fuck wants a gentleman in bed, Edward? You're supposed to let loose, have fun." Despite my anger, I fought not to smile as Usher's song _Yeah_! flitted through my mind - " we want a lady in the street and a freak in the bed." God, what was wrong with me?

We glowered at each other then he gave a small shrug. "Well I guess I know who wasn't a gentleman in bed."

His cell phone chirped giving me some time to school my face after his biting remark. He grabbed his discarded pants that were piled in front of me and rummaged through the pockets until he found his phone, then returned to the bed.

That we were both thinking of Christian wasn't really a surprise. How could we not? He was the wide chasm that separated me from Edward now. While we were slowly building a bridge across it, we'd still always be aware of his presence, of my weakness.

He returned the text message quickly, though with more force than necessary, but when he glanced back at me, his expression was gentle.

"I'm sorry. That was out of line." He patted the bed. "Come here."

His eyes burned over every inch of my flesh while I crossed the room trying to figure out who had called and why his anger was suddenly gone. Not that I was complaining, far from it, but experience had taught me to be wary and to expect the worse. I was just so tired of everything being so hard.

"Look at me," he commanded softly, his hand on my chin guiding it upward. "I can't undo a hundred years of behavior over night, but I'll work on it." His fingers caressed my cheek before he leaned in and captured my lips in the sweetest, most gentle kiss that I could ever recall experiencing. The lust was gone along with all its rushing craziness, but what it revealed was something far better, sweeter, real. He broke the kiss, his mouth still only centimeters from mine, and whispered, "There will be time for all of your fantasies, love, but tonight," he brought my hand to his lips and nibbled across my knuckles before continuing, "Tonight, let me make love to you."

I fell back against the pile of pillows, Edward firmly pressed against me, our lips locked, our hands making leisurely trails down one another. Where before, he had me burning with a fire hotter than hell itself, now, he was lightly stoking the remnant embers, barely blowing on them to produce small flickering flames throughout my body with each caress, each whispered word, each declaration of love.

* * *

**Felix**

I tried to block out what was going on in the other room, but it was easier said than done. I hoped they finally worked things out, their estrangement was taking a toll on everyone; I could see it on all the Cullens' faces.

It was imperative that I talk to Bella about what I'd found while outside avoiding Devon. The jerk. I could sense corruption, and that man was up to his eyeballs in it. And Yasmin…the way she behaved around him. You'd think she was his servant, something less.

I stood up abruptly and all pairs of eyes were suddenly on me. "I am going to check on Yasmin and Kayden," I explained as that irritating knowing smile spread across each of their faces like dominoes.

I slammed the door shut as Bella was all but begging for Edward to make love to her. What the hell was wrong with him? If I had someone like Bella, I'd damn well do everything in my power to ensure her happiness, but instead he wasted it. Holding on to grudges…

I stopped short outside Yasmin's door, her thick scent filling me, driving me insane. My venom flowed causing me to swallow convulsively and I clutched the door frame while I battled for control. If only I could bottle Bella's power over emotions. Interactions with Yasmin would be so simple if I could just keep my body under control.

I listened to Kayden and Yasmin prattling on about meaningless nonsense and I envied him. That he could so easily sit by her side and just talk. I barely managed a handful of sentences then I had to flee so I could breathe air void of her smell.

And at the same time I hated him. Each passing day brought her closer and closer to him, while I made no progress. I banged on the door. I hadn't meant to be so forceful, but once again, everything I did when it came to Yasmin was wrong.

Kayden opened it a crack, the chain on the door still latched. "Felix," he said in surprise.

"Were you expecting someone else?"

He closed the door in my face. Rationally I knew he was simply undoing the chain, but it felt dismissive, like it was meant to make me look bad in Yasmin's eyes.

I pushed past him, which was quite a feat since what I really wanted to do was strangle him…or worse…feed on him…bathe in his blood, Yes, all of that sounded very appealing to me.

I withdrew the small bag I'd found behind the picture frame beside Bella's room. I probably wouldn't have noticed it, but my coat had caught on the corner of it and knocked it out of position and while I was fixing it, the bag had come free.

It was different from the one Bella had found outside of Yasmin's place, but I would stake my life that it was left behind by the same person…or people.

I held it up. "What can you tell me about this?"

She stood, her eyes nervously flitting between mine and the bag I held before her. Her petite body was utterly lost in the oversized bath robe of the loveliest shade of rose. I forgot about the small piece of fabric in my hands as I took in her bare skin from her neck to the deep V at her chest, everything else was pretty much veiled. I wanted so badly to reach out and run my hands over her dark, creamy skin. Was it as soft as it looked? Softer, I bet. But I would never know.

She plucked it out of my hand tearing me out of my trance and spilled the contents into her hand. She pushed it around and even slipped her pinky finger in her mouth to moisten it then dipped it into the contents. The tip of her finger was a grey that was almost black, and her brow furrowed deeper as she studied the color before tasting it.

She exhaled, whether in relief, I did not know. "This explains her behavior this evening. I've never seen her so out of sorts."

I took the seat closest to me and Kayden sauntered over with a mug of beer and all his humanness. Did I mention that I loathed him and everything he was and could be to Yasmin? If I hadn't, I was mentioning it now. Kayden, and his uppity Polo shirt, his perfectly creased slacks, his wing tipped shoes. Though, I guess it was better that he was fully dressed while she was running around in nothing but a bathrobe. Gods only knew what I'd have done to him had he been similarly dressed.

"Seen who out of sorts?" Kayden asked. Truthfully, I'd forgotten what she'd said after studying the gris-gris. Functioning near her was impossible. She was utterly debilitating to me.

"Isabella, of course."

I sat up straighter.

"She was having a terrible time around me and Devon this evening," she explained to Kayden. When she looked at him, she had some inner strength and self assuredness that was beyond sexy, but as her gaze slid towards me, I watched it drain away till all that was left was an anxious, nervous girl. Again, she could not hold eye contact with me; her eyes seemed to flit everywhere around me like a bee pollinating flowers. "Whoever is doing this has something of hers. Not DNA like fingernails or hair, but a personal trinket, perhaps." She cleaned her hand off and sat down.

"And it was designed to do what, exactly? You act as though it could lessen her control over her hunger. Can magic really do that?"

Her eyes flashed and finally fixated on mine. Great, I'd offended her. See what I mean? Despite my best intentions everything always went badly around her.

"You attacked your brethren, did you not?" She asked in a voice that was not her own. This one was full of confidence and reprimand. "Magic…by an unpracticed soldier did that to you." She stabbed her finger at me. "Magic left you and your whole team vulnerable and defenseless. Do you really think that the government would waste it's precious resources and time on collecting those with magical abilities if it was a worthless pursuit. If you only knew the things that could be done…mark my words, you would fear me, and rightfully so. For you will find no other practitioner in this country with abilities as great as mine." She strode out of the room and by the sound of the refrigerator slamming I concluded that she was in the kitchen area of the suite cooling off.

Kayden let out a low whistle. "Damn man, I don't think I've ever heard her say that much in one sitting." He slapped my arm, a small smile on his face. "You probably shouldn't question magic of any nature again. Ever."

I gave him the look his astute comment deserved. "You think? I somehow managed to miss the fact that my rather innocent question has royally pissed her off."

He shook his head. "No man, she's not pissed. She's hurt. You unwittingly insulted her. She's taking it rather personally. I know you didn't mean it that way, but she doesn't exactly think right around you. And apparently, you seem to be suffering from the same thing." He snickered softly to himself.

Minutes passed and still she hadn't left the refuge of the kitchen. "Should I go in there?" I felt this horrible need to do so, but I would undoubtedly only make things worse.

"Well, I'm not. She's kind of scary when she's upset. Anyways, you're the one who ticked her off. It should be you to fix it. I'm guessing you weren't done questioning her about the gris-gris. If you want anymore answers, you're going to have to suck it up and make amends."

I groaned just a little as I got to my feet and forced myself into that tiny room with the very irate voodoo priestess who could probably curse me into something slimy and disgusting.

"Yasmin," I said hesitantly. She was bowed over the counter, her hands tightly wrapped around a bottle of beer trembling slightly. My hands moved of their own accord and slid over the thick robe covering her slender shoulders. "I am most sorry. I did not mean it the way it came out. My intention was not to insult you." She raised her head but remained facing away from me. She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a long drink before setting it back on the counter.

"I know, Felix. I just…" her words faltered and I turned her toward me.

I swear I lost time. No idea how long I just stood there, my hands on her shoulders, my eyes lost in her pale green and opaque blue orbs that were so full of confusion, sadness, and desire. I could see this woman by my side forever. So tiny, so perfect, and made for me. This was the woman I was meant to be with. For the first time in hundreds of years I wished I was human.

When I was first transformed it had seemed like the end of the world. I'd lost Catherine, a woman I'd spent many years wooing and only a short year married to. I could barely recall her image anymore and that was a blessing. I was no longer haunted by her beauty, by our lost love.

Before I'd met Yasmin I'd loved being a vampire, but now it was just a curse and obstacle keeping me apart from her. One of many obstacles. Mustn't forget about Devon, though he'd be easy enough to take care of.

"Uh, guys, is everything okay in there?" Kayden called and yanked me out of my reverie, but now I was staring at those pouty lips that begged to be sampled. Her pulse sped; her skin flushed and heated my icy flesh. I almost closed the distance, my mouth mere inches from hers. I'd never wanted anything more, not even her blood which smelled far more potent with her heart racing. She wanted this. Her small hands found their way to the lapels of my coat and clutched tightly, not exactly pulling me forward, but not pushing me away. The confusion and sadness that had been warring with desire in those misty pools had vanished; all that was left was a deep longing.

I dipped my head the rest of the way about to have my first taste of heaven. No! I would do no such thing. I pulled away from her a bit roughly putting an appropriate amount of space between us. Both of us were breathing erratically and she looked as disappointed with my chivalry as I was.

"Shall we?" I asked once I was able keep my voice from breaking, my hand motioning toward the living room. She moved past me, her scent enveloping me like a warm blanket and how I wanted to wrap it around me for all eternity.

Once we were all seated we picked up where we left off. "What purpose would it serve to have her hunger raging out of control?"

"It was not raging out of control. She did not act on the impulse."

"I believe Edward's iron embrace was all that kept her from attacking. At least, that's the impression I got from what the Cullens told me. I'm afraid I missed most of that exchange," I admitted, feeling ashamed that I'd been so weak, so angry with Devon, that I hadn't been there when Bella needed me.

"I'm not sure about the _why_. Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps they just wanted to toy with her. Or it could be that it was a test."

"How do you mean?" Kayden asked leaning forward completely absorbed. I kept forgetting that he'd been personally involved in the government conspiracy. Could it be him? Was he working us from the inside. It's not like Bella ever questioned him, not really. She'd accepted Yasmin's opinion on him and just like that, he'd been tagging along with us.

"For something bigger. Of course, if they were to do a more potent curse, it would have to involve a piece of her. Hair, for instance. I'm going to visit Madame Blanchet. I do not generally participate in such black curses. It just…" she hesitated, "…happens to be her area of expertise."

I nodded. I needed to discuss all of this with Bella, but I would most certainly be accompanying her tomorrow. "I would feel better if you would allow me to join you."

"Of course," she replied stiffly, again looking everywhere but at me. I didn't know if I should rejoice that I would get to spend the whole day with her, or to despair.

* * *

**Thought? I'd love to hear 'em.**


	19. Chapter 19 Unhealthy Obsession

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I know it's been a while. Sorry. Only 4 more weeks of school then I'm free to waste my time however I see fit. Yay! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I so enjoy reading them and the feedback is immensely helpful. **

**Chapter 19 Unhealthy Obsessions**

**Lee**

"You aren't seriously going through with it?" I asked. We'd completely refilled our inventory and Kinly was sifting through them right now, trying to ascertain which ones would provide him with the greatest advantage.

Dr. Anderson barely acknowledged me. "I said I would. We've been successful with our newest recruits. I promised him once we enhanced enough soldiers that I would fulfill his request." He read over one of our newest recruits file. Her name was Tish. I had no qualms about a female soldier, but it wasn't going over well with the rest of the unit. Not a big surprise, but Kinly was livid about her inclusion. So much so, that I'd been ordered to guard her. Not that she needed my protection from Kinly, who was, after all, still a normal run of the mill human. Well, normal might be stretching it. While, he might be a threat for any other female, there was no way he'd be able to take her on.

She could move things with her mind even before Dr. Anderson got his hands on her. The only addition he provided was the vampire DNA. No, she would never have made a good plaything for Kinly. He would just have to settle for the unfortunate women that were no longer useful to the experiment.  
I tried to focus on my concerns about Kinly, but my eyes kept sweeping back to Tish. She sat up straight, naked except for plain, black cotton panties, and not the least bit embarrassed for it. Her diminutive body, with equally small, yet perfect breasts, distracted me from my argument. Small though she may be, she still had the physique of a soldier. I could trace the lines of her sculpted muscles from her shoulders to her calves. My eyes trailed back up her body to study her averted face while she fixated on the doctor. Her short platinum blonde hair was gelled into perfect spikes, her clear blue eyes beginning to darken around the edges with hunger, her nude lips pressed tightly together while she struggled for control. I cleared my throat as I caught myself committing each attribute to memory, my body responding in kind. The last thing I needed was Tish noticing the bulge in my pants.

Not that I had to worry about that, she wasn't paying me any attention. Tish watched the doctor like he was her prey, though he was oblivious to it as he jotted down her readings. So far, the vampire enhancement had been unpredictable. We'd already been ordered to destroy two Marines because they were more animal than human. Uncontrollable. Useless in every capacity. I chuckled. I shared DNA with a wolf shape shifter, yet the vampire half breeds were more animal than me.

Tish, however, seemed mostly in control. She still had human needs, but she also required blood. And right now it looked like she wanted to drink from that fount that was leaning across her.

I pulled him back under the guise of continuing our conversation mostly because I liked this woman and didn't want to see her destroyed because she was hungry. "You can't fucking enhance him. The goddamn man's a menace already. Can you imagine the damage he will inflict once he has all that power?" I loathed that man. My life was the military. Honor meant something. Duty. These were codes I lived by, as did my brothers, but Kinly, he'd never been bound by any code. We'd agreed to the enhancement to protect our country, but Kinly would use it only to destroy.

"That is not my concern, Lee, and it is not yours either. Your orders, correct me if I'm wrong, are to guard Tish, not bitch about enhancement procedures." He removed my hand from his lapel. Truthfully, I didn't even remember grabbing him.

He turned back to Tish. "Everything looks good. Lee, here," he motioned me forward. "…will take you to the training room and get you started." He pulled a water bottle full of blood from the refrigerator at the back of the stainless steel room and handed it to her. "You should probably drink this before you begin."

I grabbed her clothes from the pile on the chair and pushed them toward her. She needed some cover and fast.

* * *

We had both units training right now. Twelve new recruits. One set Navy Seals the other Green Berets. We did have a few Marines too, but most had been hesitant to participate in the experiment. Not fear, just ego. They already thought they were the shit and didn't need supernatural genes messing with their already superior DNA.

"Is it wrong to be excited?" She asked.

I couldn't keep my stony expression in place around her. She was the only woman among us and now she was strong enough to smack down some of the assholes that were part of our elite unit. "Not at all. Don't let your guard down for one second and don't hold back, because they won't be holding back. Don't think for one moment that the fact that you don't have a dick will make them go easier on you. If anything, it'll only serve to incite them. You know men; they always need to be superior to women."

Kinly strutted past us, glaring as he pushed past. Speaking of men who suffered from a serious inferiority complex. It made my blood run cold to think of him participating in this experiment. He would rein hell over this country. The only solace I had was that sooner or later I'd be called in to take him down. How many innocents would die before that time…that was what chilled me.

I punched in the security code and the door hissed open to reveal shirtless, sweaty men, beating the shit out of each other. For half a second, I almost pushed her out of the room, a sudden need to protect her overwhelming me, but I stepped aside, called the men to order, and made introductions. Time to see what she was made of.

* * *

**Kinly**

Towel loosely wrapped around my waist, I pulled out a cigar and bit the end off, spitting it into the sink and lighting it. All that blood swirling down the fucking drain. Pity. I'd worked so fucking hard to draw it from her, and now it was all washed away. Not to worry. Tomorrow was another day. Plenty of bitches to pass the time with, though, I doubted they'd be as satisfying as this last one.

Ah, the fucking show she put on. Made my cock hard just thinking about it.

I shifted and took a long drag. I had an appointment with the good doctor in half an hour. Thirty more fucking minutes and then I'd be able to start the hunt for the vampire cunt.

I could still feel her little body so full of supernatural power, beneath me. She'd be there again soon enough. Until then, though, I had to keep myself occupied with something. I almost regretted killing the last bitch. She looked just like the little vampire. That long brown hair trying to cover her ass, pale luminous skin. Mmm. Yes, she'd been a satisfactory distraction, but I was fucking ready for the real deal.

I dressed in my uniform and meticulously added all my medals before grabbing my shoes and shining them until they gleamed all the while plotting out how my first meeting with that vampire whore was going to play out.

My sources indicated that she was in New Orleans, a gaggle of vampires around her, not to mention my pet voodoo priestess. Yeah, I could still smell her creamy cocoa skin, hear her fucking pleas, and taste the saltiness of her flesh. No one had ever escaped me before and I damn sure wouldn't let that piece of shit witch be the first. In the end I'd have them both. And if the dark haired runt of a vampire was there when I made my move, well the more the merrier. She was the only reason I hadn't had my fun with the brunette.

I passed Lee and the twat that they'd deigned to inflict on our enterprise. "Women soldiers," I scoffed to myself. They were fucking useless. Weak little pussies. I gave her one day. My men would eat her alive and I would enjoy every moment of it, maybe even help. We'd show her what her pussy was really made for.

I entered the exam room to find that Anderson had everything ready. "Remove your shirt please, Kinly," Dr. Anderson requested. His assistant came forward and took the shirt and hung it up. This one was male. Maybe Anderson had finally realized how useless the female bitch had been and fired her worthless ass. Everything was just going my way today. I'd thought I was going to be under the female assistant's power during the procedure, but fate, it seemed, had intervened.

I stretched out on the table and let the assistant administer the anesthesia.

* * *

**Bella**

Six hours…six glorious hours. I turned my face to his taking in his eyes full of content, his half smile that seemed plastered on his perfect lips and reveled in the fact that I had my husband back.

"You tired of me yet?" He asked playfully, his hand smoothing over my cheek making me want nothing more than to stay in bed all damn day, but that was not an option. No, Esme was moving us to our new residence this afternoon. Between one of our very short breaks in our lovemaking, she had made certain that we hadn't forgotten that fact. Who knew she could be so pushy?

I yawned widely in exaggeration. "Yep. Completely exhausted. I've had so much_ Edward time, _that I'm looking forward to shopping with Alice and Rosalie." I pushed him on his back and attacked his smirking lips hungrily. I never made it around to hunting last night, having far more appetizing things to sink my teeth into, and all, but I couldn't deny the ache in my throat now. I sighed and pulled away. "As much as I'd like to go for round eight…or is it nine...I think I should probably eat something a little more filling than you."

The pad of his finger brushed under my obsidian eyes and he nodded. "It was careless of me not to insist on hunting last night."

"Oh hush. Like I would have listened anyway. I have a seriously one track mind and it was wholly focused on every inch of you last night."

"I am well aware of how very focused you were," he chuckled deeply, that all male chuckle, and pressed a gentle kiss against my temple. "Thank you, love. Last night was perfect." He took my hand in his, his fingers twisting my wedding ring around and around, his mind a million miles away. I wanted to know the thoughts behind that distant expression and almost just peeked, but his wistful voice intervened.

"I feel like…like I finally have you back." He glanced up at me from under his thick crescent of lashes before saying, "You've given me back my soul…my life, Bella. For the first time in a long time, I feel whole."

It was true; last night had been a pivotal moment. I could see on his face the truth of his words and knew that mine echoed it. We were back to normal, or as normal as we ever were.

Too soon he robbed me of his precious body and crossed the room to rifle through the dresser for some boxers and a t-shit, my eyes feasting on his firm, sculpted ass. Yeah, that was making me want to get out of bed and face reality.

Perhaps he could feel my hot gaze appreciating his fine physique, because he turned, giving me a full frontal eyeful, a wicked glint in his, the clothes balled into one fist. "I think you've had more than enough, don't you?" He teased, though made no move to hide the distraction that was his body. "In case you've forgotten, we'll be moving into the house today." He waited for some reaction, but all he got was more ogling. Who could blame me? His bronze hair had fallen across one eye and his erection was beckoning me. Can't imagine why I had forgotten what he'd just said. I licked my lips in anticipation. What was with me? All my hungers seemed totally beyond my control lately.

He shook his head, laughing, as he dressed at vampire speed. "There, maybe now we can have a normal conversation." I pushed my lower lip out, but couldn't keep the smile off my face. I was positively giddy. We were past my indiscretion and somehow we'd come out the better for it. Where before he viewed me as a teenager, now he saw me as a woman. For the first time ever, I felt like his equal and it was an indescribable feeling.

He scooted in behind me, strong arms snaking around my waist pulling me against his muscled chest, his lips whispering over my ear. "Now behave, you naughty vixen. We have things to do. I believe that Felix wishes to discuss something with you and we have to pack. Esme will be put out with us if we do not keep to her schedule."

I trained my thoughts on Felix, but all I heard were Emmett and Rosalie. Maybe the best way to drown out the sounds of sex was to have sex yourself. I smiled as I tried to block them out, but now that I'd heard their panting and dirty talk it was hard to ignore. "But Felix isn't even here and it'll only take me seconds to throw my crap in the suitcase." I twisted in his arms and locked my legs around his narrow waist, my wet heat rubbing against him enticingly.

"You, my dear, are an animal. I'm going to have to put you on penis rations if you're not good." He plucked me off of him and planted me firmly on the bed.

I scoffed. "I'll just buy a vibrator and relive each memory of last night again and again." Threaten me with no sex. Please. It's not like he was doing a good job hiding his own desire from me. There was no real threat to that declaration.

"Bella," he whined. "Would you please focus?"

"Alright. Alright," I groaned melodramatically. "Wonder what's so damn important that Felix needs to talk to me?"

He cocked his head to one side. "You don't use my power much, do you?"

"Not if I can help it. It's kind of intrusive. Sorry, but it is." I felt bad saying that; I certainly didn't want to insult him. Hopefully he wouldn't take it that way.

"Oh, I agree. It comes in handy at times, but for the most part I just feel like an intruder. I would give almost anything to be able to turn it off the way you do." He began filling his suitcase up, folding each garment meticulously. Not my way of doing things, that's for sure. I would just grab a handful and shove it all in and call it a job well done.

"Maybe you could. Aro helped me; maybe I could teach you," I suggested kind of enjoying the thought that I might be able to help him for a change.

With the suitcase full, he zipped it up and reached for my half empty one. It wasn't until that moment that I remembered Christian's letter. Why had I kept it? I jumped off the bed at lightning speed and wrenched the luggage out of his hands. When he shot me a surprised, inquisitive look, I just shrugged. "I'll do it."

I could feel his eyes boring into me, but I focused on piling my clothes into the bag. He decided to let my odd behavior slide and continued on with the conversation like I wasn't acting a bit off. "I doubt it. Your power has always been slightly different from mine. You always had some control over it, Aro simply refined it."

"Well since you're always listening, any idea what Felix is so concerned about?"

He frowned at my question. "Why would you think he was concerned?"

"Because he doesn't do idle chit chat and the only reason he'd seek me out while you're around is for something important. Bad news, no doubt. I seem to get a lot of that these days."

"Ah, I see. He wasn't exactly thinking clearly as he was quite enraged over Devon and well…hearing us didn't really leave his thoughts focused, but I did catch something about a gris-gris. What is that, by the way? I've never heard of it before."

Edward glided up to me and withdrew a couple clothes from the pile then slowly trailed his index finger down my spine and over the curve of my ass. "As much as I enjoy the view of your lush body, Bella, I do believe you might want to consider keeping one outfit out." He handed them to me and zipped the suitcase before placing it on the floor by his.

I threw on my clothes while sharing my memories of my conversations with Yasmin and the women at the voodoo shop. It was just quicker that way. I looked all over the vanity counter top for my hairbrush, hands deftly moving things aside, but couldn't find it. "Where the hell's my brush?" I tossed some other cosmetics into the travel bag hoping to unearth it. "Have you seen it?"

"No, you know me-I just run my hands through my hair and call it a work of art." He chuckled as he went through his bag. "Here, use mine." He patted the bed and I sank into it, reveling in the feel of him next to me. I would never take this for granted again. The near implosion of our marriage had given me a whole new outlook on life and I was all about enjoying the little things. His gentle brushstrokes soothed me and quieted the raging urge to screw his brains out, though the need for blood only grew more acute with each breath.

"I love you, Bella." He kissed me right behind my ear and my whole body responded to his light touch, electricity arcing between us and he shuddered against me revealing that it wasn't totally one sided. "Haven't had the chance to tell you that today."

A relaxed moan slipped from me. "You don't have to say it, Edward, you show me in everything you do. This, for example," I sighed utterly content as he gently unknotted the mess that was my unsexy version of bed head. "…this screams love."

"Glad you think so." One had slipped under the hem on my shirt, sliding ever so slowly up my ribs, before he gently cupped my breast in his hand. "And when we get to our new house, I plan on showing you just how much I love you. We can christen every inch of that place in whatever manner you see fit."

I giggled as I vividly imagined different scenarios, each one more outlandish than the last when something in me snapped. It was like the fates had their golden shears and were gnawing at my lifeline…grating, sawing back and forth, their maniacal laughter filling every space of my mind before it slowly faded to something twisted and male. My body was strung so tight I ached from head to toe and in the background, through thick fog, I could hear Edward's fearful words, but they couldn't penetrate the hell that had consumed me.

* * *

**Kinly**

My eyes opened and it was like I saw everything for the first time. Every crack, every color, every _thing_. I sat up and felt life rushing through me. Power. Power to do any fucking thing. Power to hunt down vampires. Power that had no rival.

"How are you feeling, Kinly?" Anderson asked as he checked my vitals. I waited till he made his notes then sank my teeth deep into his throat, while my other hand wrapped around the assistant's quickly squeezing the life out of him. I heard their last thoughts, saw images of their lives passing before their eyes, and got off on it-literally. Never before had death excited me so fucking much. My cock swelled to bursting and as the doctor's heart pounded out its last beat I came in my pants and dropped his body to the floor.

It was fucking time. I would teach that bitch a much needed lesson.

* * *

**So, comments anyone?**


	20. Chapter 20 Time is Running Out

****

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I know it's a long one but I have a few mistakes I need to address. I was reading through my story and I've found a number of inconsistencies. I'm going back to fix them now, but the three most notable ones were Sergeant Lee- he's mixed with ****wolf**** not ****Jaguar**** like the last post said (confused him with the guy that brought Bella into the facility)**

**Yasmin's eyes are two different colors and neither of them are ****brown**** like I described them in the last post. One is ****pale green**** and the other is ****opaque blue****and her floor length hair was shaved off by Kinly, though I haven't described her hair since Bella rescued her, so not really an inconsistency, I just forgot about it and my mental image of her was a bit off. I added a clearer picture of how she looks in chapter 16. Sorry. I've been taking notes so I can avoid these stupid mistakes in the future, but if you happen to notice any let me know so I can make the necessary changes.**

**WARNING: Kinly's section contains some disturbing content. I tried to keep it to a minimum, which is why we only hear it, and not see it, but it might be a bit too offensive for some. If you wish to avoid it ignore the last 3 or 4 paragraphs of his section. You won't miss anything that furthers the story, it just shows how demented he is and how one of his powers works.**

**Chapter 20 Time is Running Out**

**Edward**

"Carlisle!"

The others rushed in, but brought no feeling of relief. What could they do, after all?

I stared at him in horror, feeling like a small child as I looked to my father to make it all better. "She's unresponsive," I finally blurted out. Not like they couldn't see that already. Bella lay against me trembling violently, her eyes rolled back in her head.

At first she'd called out to me, but no sounds came from her now. As much as the convulsions scared me, it was the only sign I had that she was still alive. After the first fitful attack, even her breathing had ceased. Rationally I knew that small function was unnecessary, but I found the lack of air rushing in and out of her unnerving.

Carlisle examined her thoroughly for a minute then shook his head, not meeting my eyes. He was reciting a first year medical book in an attempt to block me from his thoughts and it was working. What did he know that he was hiding from me? It had to be bad or else he wouldn't bother.

"Dammit, Carlisle, what's happening to her? She was fine minutes ago," I roared. If I could have wrenched free of her body, I probably would have attacked him, but I was terrified to leave her. I just got her back. I couldn't lose her now. I clutched her desperately to my chest trying to keep my whole reason for living from slipping away.

It was Kayden who finally spoke up uncertainly. "I….I think it's…." he trailed off when his gaze collided with mine, fear stopping the words in his throat, but I'd already read it from his mind while he was stuttering uselessly. A magical attack. Fury like nothing I'd ever experienced roared through me. I was impotent against such an assault. My Bella lay in my arms suffering God knew what kind of torment, and I could not save her.

That was it. Once we stopped this attack, I was taking her away from all of this. It didn't matter that she felt obligated to Yasmin and Aro, I would not stand by and watch her suffer for others. She'd done enough, given up so much and now it was time someone repaid her. My lips brushed the cool flesh of her temple. _Wake up, love. Come back to me_, I pleaded silently as terror swallowed me.

The thoughts of my family were the only thing keeping me from sinking further into despair. I forced myself to pay attention to Kayden's thoughts as he mulled over the conversation between Felix and Yasmin last night. "We need Yasmin," I said simply. Everyone in the room stared back and forth between me and Kayden looking horror-struck in their cluelessness. "Get her!" I barked out between clenched teeth. I was barely holding it together. Bella's body was motionless now. No more tremors. No more steady breaths. Someone was stealing her very life right from my hands.

Kayden's reply filled my mind before he verbally answered. Yasmin wasn't here. She and Felix were in the French Quarter seeking some black witch's aid in an attempt to counter the effects of the gris gris.

As all consuming as my despair was, I would not give up. "Call Felix, then," I choked out. Fear made the words lodge in my throat making my order barely audible.

My cell was ringing but I ignored it as I listened to Justin's voice while he explained the situation to Felix.

Our eyes met and I held my breath as I waited for his response. "She's on her way." He flipped the phone closed, but mine kept ringing. "There's nothing we can do right now, Edward," Justin added as he grabbed my phone off the nightstand and tossed it to me.

I gave it a cursory glance. Alice. _A little late with the visions._

I answered gruffly. "What?"

"I keep seeing Yasmin dead, Edward. The vision has shifted several times, but in the end, though the place is different, her demise remains."

I didn't care what happened to her as long as she lived long enough to help Bella. It was horrible and wrong, but all that mattered at the moment was Bella's safety.

"I'm a little busy here at the moment, Alice," I bit out. She had no clue. She hadn't seen anything concerning Bella. Some psychic she was.

"Too busy to save someone that Bella risked everything to rescue?" She challenged, anger tingeing her words causing me to bark out a humorless laugh. "I see nothing funny about this, Edward."

"No? How about the fact that you're losing your touch as a psychic? Or the fact that Bella is currently in my arms looking deader than whatever image of Yasmin is polluting your fucking head?"

"Edward!" Esme scolded me, real anger in her voice. "Enough. We're all scared, but that does not give you the right to behave in such a despicable manner."

My rage melted away at once only to be replaced with shame at her words.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I didn't see…I still can't. I'm searching her future right now and all I see is a sea of black."

"When will you be arriving?" I asked unable to accept her apology even though I knew it was wrong to blame her for missing this event.

"In an hour. Jasper's driving as fast as the car will go."

Yasmin burst into the room, power clinging to her, her eerie eyes-one blue one green- now a filmy opaque. Behind her were several other women; reinforcement. They followed Yasmin shooting fearful looks at each of us while muttering something about blood demons under their breath.

Felix shot to my side looking ill as he stroked Bella's stony cheek with such tenderness. Bella had come to mean so much too so many in such a short time. Thinking back to the first time I went to Volterra in search of my death, I found it hard to imagine that the man that now looked at my wife with such love in his eyes was the same man that had been so eager to see us both dead.

He raised his eyes to mine, a strained smile meant to reassure me, but failing miserably, pulled at his mouth. "Yasmin will help her," he vowed, his mind full of certainty. I did not share in his optimism.

Yasmin peered over me, her mouth drawn, a small crease between her eyes. "Lay her out on the bed," she commanded, no fear in her thoughts, no doubt in her abilities. As much as it pained me to release Bella I did as Yasmin demanded. I laid her beautiful, lifeless body against the thick bedspread, smoothing back some wayward strands of hair and brushed one last kiss against her forehead before moving out of the way.

The other women had set to work immediately, precisely positioning candles of varying colors throughout the room. Incense burned, chalk lines were drawn, symbols etched…herbs…soil…old musty books. I barely took stock of all the items that the women were producing from their bags and arranging in very exact positions. It all just flashed into my mind along with their thoughts about the significance and purpose of each item, then I pushed their thoughts away and found my hand stroking Bella's arm without even noticing that I'd crossed the room to the bed again. She'd never looked more beautiful…or more dead.

* * *

**Bella**

I'd lost all concept of time. Unyielding arms restrained me, overpowering me. Wordless voices echoed. Nameless faces beseeched me. I saw flashes of his victims; some horribly mutilated others absolutely peaceful in their deaths. I knew that they'd been murdered, even the peaceful looking ones, and here in this place, I almost knew who committed the atrocious acts, but the more I focused on him, the more elusive he became.

Slicing through that torrent of images was the low sound of chanting and with each completed string something ripped from me painfully like flesh being torn from bone in long, slow, agonizing strips. I was certain that death waited close by, just out of reach, letting me suffer a little more for the atrocities I'd committed in my short time as a vampire.

Then, as quick as it all began, it all ended. Nothingness. That's what surrounded me. Darkness that ate all sounds, all images, that's all that was left to me and I basked in it. I no longer felt like strips of my flesh were being torn from me, my head was clear, and I was aware that though my mind was here, my body was safely in Edward's arms, though I could not feel him or sense him in any way. That one lucid thought comforted me.

The burly man from the facility, Kinly, I thought his name was, appeared seated across the expanse of blackness, just staring at me, expression void from his face.

Again the chanting permeated the silence louder, more forceful than before and Kinly's imaged began to waver as he beckoned me with his thick, meaty finger. _Come and play little girl._

My mother screamed at me. "_Bella!"_ I looked around slowly, but aside from the darkness I was alone. Still, I floated to my feet and glided across the suddenly shiny floor in the direction of her frightened scream.

A searing fire burned though my hip causing me the grunt in pain. When I examined the wound, I noticed all my clothes were gone; the only thing on me was a four inch brand in an intricate design. Reminded me of a military insignia. Even as my fingers traced over the raised flesh, the wound disappeared, leaving my skin a pale perfection once more.

Again, Renee called to me. Newspaper clippings appeared in front of me, my mother's face on the front page and my hand automatically reached out to tear it from the wall that wasn't even there, yet my hands truly held that paper as I read the article. She'd gone missing, but the date was wrong. The paper was marked two days from today. It dropped to the floor as I picked up another one that showed her lifeless body, not mutilated like the ones I'd seen earlier, but peaceful, like she was sleeping, though you could tell that that was not the case.

The chanting quickened, becoming a frantic hum. It was a race. A race to…do what? I had no clue, but I had to win. That I did know. A spell was being weaved just for me, trying to keep this information from me and I could not let it happen.

Charlie's agonized voice blocked out the monotonous spell, and as with Renee, I was suddenly faced with more newspapers, one that I was very familiar with. Fork's Daily News. I'd seen this paper on my table every morning during high school, though, I'd never really bothered to read it. This one was two weeks ahead of time warning me of Charlie's impending demise. The words kept reshaping themselves faster than I could read them.

I had to get out of here. Had to warn someone.

"_Relax,"_ Charlie's voice soothed me. _"Alice will make sure everyone knows."_

"_But Alice sometimes misses things_," I pointed out. It would be just my luck that she'd miss the death of my parents.

I sat back and relaxed. It's what Charlie told me to do, so I did. Little ribbons of me were being pulled from me. I watched as each one slowly left me in soft wispy colors. A pale pink one that I associated with Alice, for some reason. A bright red one that reminded me of Seline. Purple for Aro. Green for Edward. A cheerful yellow for Jasper. Black for Blain. I sighed and reclined back on the cold, shiny floor that wasn't really there and watched those wispy clouds form a rainbow of sort and float away in the direction of the chanting voice.

I knew that voice, though I couldn't put a name to it. Too much effort. He was willing me to sleep. _Vampires don't sleep._ Yet, I was tired, my eyes heavy with the weight of his will. Why not? Maybe I'd dream of something a little more pleasant than my family's imminent death.

* * *

**Kinly**

The mess in the exam room was cleaned up and the bodies already turning to ash in the incinerator that we used on board to destroy evidence of our passengers once they'd served their fucking purpose.

Excitement burned in me and I found it fucking impossible to sit still. I'd never felt so powerful and I was eager to test my limits. Had to know what all I was capable of before I began my hunt for my next play thing. The best play thing.

The difference the enhancement made on my sight and hearing alone was fucking brilliant. I was aware of every person on the ship. Getting out of here without a scene would be easier than I'd anticipated. That disappointed me. I wanted an altercation, any excuse to try out my newfound strength.

I pulled the pocket knife out of my pants and flicked it open using it to clean some of the dried blood from under my nails while I waited for the cover of darkness to steal the small boat we used to travel back and forth between the small island.

But why wait? I aimed the knife at the wall and with only the barest flick of my wrist it soared across the room and embedded itself into the steel enforced wall all the way to the hilt. I could manipulate time now that I had sample V-III's DNA. Now was the fucking perfect time to test it out along with my ace in the hole. Fuck yeah, I was gonna have some fun tonight.

That little soldier bitch would beg me for it. She'd have no choice, because I could control her will. I listened carefully for her voice so I could pin point her position. She wasn't in the training room anymore, that I was sure of because I could hear the men still training like good little puppets. I chuckled as I imagined all the things I could make those men do if I was so inclined. I'd never been like them. Not even as a piss ant peon right out of basic training. No, even then my commanding officers knew that I was no one's fucking puppet. I took orders from one person-me.

Orders had already gone down the chain that they wanted our first unit out of the country in two days. Even with my high clearance, I couldn't get any information on where they were going. Not through proper chain of commands, but if I cared enough I could always will someone at the Pentagon to share that classified information. I wonder if that power would work over the phone or if physical touch or eye contact was fucking necessary.

The cabin began to darken as the sun finally lost its battle with the night and I jumped to my feet, bag in hand, and raced above deck. Our boat was ready to go because it'd been used earlier today to bring two more freaks aboard. The first one was a child; a small boy that was supposedly possessed. No fucking idea what role he would play in this government operation. Now that the good doctor was incapacitated, he probably wouldn't be doing much of anything except spewing Latin from his mouth and screaming incessantly when holy objects were in his sight.

Oddly, the idea of the boy - he couldn't be more than eleven-being used in such a way disturbed me - brought me back to the horrors of my past, but it wasn't enough to make me aid him. No. Everything I'd been through only served to make me better, stronger and he would no doubt feel the same way if he lived through this ordeal. Or at least that's what I told myself. I fucking knew that they would destroy him once they'd learned all there was to learn about him.

The second passenger was a pregnant woman. Not sure what her fucking deal was and didn't really fucking care. Kids and babies held no interest to me and the farther I was from them the better.

I threw my bag into the boat below when I noticed the clamor of feet on the nearby stairwell. Just my fucking luck-toys to play with. I didn't care who I tested my new gifts on, just that I got to drink in their fear, watch their eyes dim as their life slipped away.

"Man, that bitch really fucked you up."

"Fuck off. She cheated."

The first man's laughter became louder as he opened the door and stopped short when he saw me. He straightened his body immediately to stand at attention.

"Major Thompson," he choked out, surprised by my presence on deck. Probably had something to do with the whiskey bottle dangling in his left hand that he tried unsuccessfully to hide while maintaining his stiff posture.

Rocky stumbled behind him and pushed Fields forward. "Sorry, man." His eyes widened when he noticed me. So much for the fucking enhancement program. These idiots were useless. They should be able to smell me, hear my heart rate, my long drawn out breaths as I struggled not to kill them where they stood, but gauging from their expressions they'd missed all those details.

"At ease, Sergeant Fields." Richard Fields. He'd come highly recommended by Colonel Jefferson. So far I wasn't fucking impressed. Looked like a young punk having fun on the fucking governments dime. I fished out my last cigar out of my coat pocket and leaned against the rail while lighting it. "How'd our newest recruit fair during training exercises?"

"She kicked Rocky's ass, Sir," he said adding emphasis on the Sir.

"The fuck you say!" Rocky shouted, pushing him hard, some of the liquor sloshing out of the bottle. They must be fucking wasted to act like that in front of me. I was, after all, the highest ranking official aboard this ship. "That bitch cheated," he whined.

I couldn't mask my disappointment. I'd been hoping for a much different outcome. "You're telling me that some dickless bitch bested you, Private St. John?" I sneered, derision plastered on my face. How weak could you get?

Rocky, wound tight from my harassment, refrained from answering, but I didn't need to hear his insolent reply, not when I could feel his emotions suffocating me. He loathed me. Both of them did. I wasn't offended. The feeling was mutual.

I pushed from the rail and closed the distance between them, letting the first hint of my rage that was always locked within me show through. "Sergeant Fields," I said as calmly as I could muster, "You are dismissed."

The blood drained from Rocky's face as his friend deserted him. I waited until the sounds of his booted feet evaporated then I turned my attention to Rocky St. John.

He'd been in and out of juvenile hall for everything from drugs to manslaughter, but he also had well connected parents that pulled a few strings so he could avoid real jail time. Fucking pussy. A real man would've taken his fucking punishment. Instead, he got the privilege of serving our country. His real name was Randy, but he was trying to distance himself from the elite St. John family name, so he adopted the call sign Rocky. Bet his fucking father would be pissed to learn that his only son was ashamed of his birth right. And mommy…wonder what his little mommy would think about the changes her precious son had under gone under our tutelage?

Oh, how I wanted to try out my new abilities, but this weak ass man's father was one of my most stringent allies. Wouldn't do to alienate him. Time was growing short. Perhaps I'd just give him a little mental push…see how it worked out… Worse case scenario was that the bitch wouldn't get her proper welcome to our elite program. I could live with that.

Focusing my will on my words, because the good doc had said that manipulating another's will would be more successful if issued in the form of a request, I said, "I have a job for you, St. John." I grabbed him by the arm, fighting the urge to bite him and pulled him roughly below. I may not have time to fuck with that little bitch, but as his commanding officer, I could certainly make sure the job was done thoroughly.

We stood outside her quarters. Since he wasn't strong enough to deal with her on his own, I'd have to give him an edge. I saturated her room with lethargy and the sound of her body collapsing to the floor sent chills down my spine. Now she'd be putty in his hands. My pulse sped at the mere thought of what Rocky would do to her.

I grabbed him roughly by the collar. "Private St. John," I addressed him formally so he understood that this was a direct order and gave a small mental push. "You will avenge your honor this evening. That bitch that emasculated you earlier…she's in there right now helpless…weak…horny…she fucking wants you Private." I leaned in, our faces inches a part, his eyes wide and glassy looking as I made my will his. "Work her over properly, show her what its like to play with the big dogs, son."

The hands trembled- a mixture of nerves and excitement, exactly what I was hoping to see. "Sir, yes, Sir." He saluted me and entered the room, locking the door behind him.

I leaned against it manipulating time so I could enjoy her first fucking minutes of terror. Her emotions hit me with the force of a nuclear warhead and my cock responded in kind. I cupped myself as her helpless pleas filled my ears like the sweetest serenade, while her heart pounded out a quick rhythm, my hand followed suit. Each blow to her flesh brought me one stroke closer to release.

Taking control of her will, her frightened screams stopped only to be replaced with her begging Rocky to fuck her. Normally, I would have prolonged her fear and basked in it as he forced himself on her, but I wanted her to know that she was begging to be raped. That all the while it happened she wanted it even as somewhere deep down in her broken soul she knew she didn't. The only shame was that I would not be here in the morning to see the aftermath, to appreciate the dead look in her eyes as she tried to make sense of her attack.

"Harder, dammit. Fucking harder," she demanded and Rocky grunted under the strain. When she yelped as he hurt her more than she wanted, my seed spilled in hot spurts distracting me so that I lost control of her will, but I found her now terrified screams just as pleasurable. Rocky was just getting started. He hadn't even gotten to the fun stuff yet, but my time here was over. I had a boat to catch. I wiped up quickly and darted above deck.

I searched the dark waters, locating the waiting boat and stealthily jumped over the railing landing in a crouch before sitting down and grabbing the makeshift oars I'd constructed just for this quiet escape. I would turn the motor on only after I was a few miles away. In theory, I was now able to swim the vast distance, but I wasn't chancing it. Not when the thing I desired most was so close I could almost fucking taste her. Her image spurred me on. Everywhere I looked I saw those red eyes, fear and determination filling them when she realized that she was powerless against me. My cock grew at that thought and I relished the dull ache it brought with it. Soon.

I sighed, my father's voice encouraging me, applauding me. Come morning, the hunt would commence.

**Comments? Suggestions? Questions? I value your feedback. Thanks for reading.**


	21. Chapter 21 Wake Up Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: I have 2 more weeks of class and then it's finals week, so that's why the delay in postage. Sorry. This was originally one long post, but I've decided to split it in two. I'm hoping to finish this fic up by June. Anything you want to see happen…or don't, as the case may be, leave a comment and I'll work on it. Thanks for all the reviews and adds; they always make me smile. You guys are the best readers a girl could ask for.**

**Chapter 21 Wake Up Call**

_**Two Days Later**_

I'd been aware of them for a while now, but couldn't seem to break free of the thick fog that engulfed my mind. Yasmin's low, lilted voice and Felix's muffled reply filtered through, but I only caught the occasional word.

Right on time, Carlisle did his hourly examination. This was the third one since I'd started keeping track. This time he offered Edward some words of encouragement before slipping away. Or maybe he was still there and I was just slipping away; it was hard to tell. The only thing I knew for certain was that Edward had been with me each time I became lucid, his body lying on its side one arm under my neck, his hand smoothing through my hair, and the other arm draped over me protectively tracing a pattern up and down my arm. I'd lost count how many times he'd made the circuit from my wrist to my elbow and back again, but it had numbered in the millions.

Counting was the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. It kept me from examining my thoughts too closely, because each time I touched on one of my memories, such pain filled my heart I swear I could feel it cracking under the flood of pressure.

Though, now that I thought about it, I couldn't recall what it was about those memories that had elicited such a reaction. No, that wasn't true. The image of a man was there in the back of my mind. Whatever Yasmin had done had chased _him_ away. Couldn't recall who _he_ was, maybe I never knew; at the moment I didn't even care. The only thing I was certain of was that something dreadful had happened and it was imperative that I woke up, but knowing something and doing something were two completely different things and no matter how hard I tried to wake up, I couldn't. So, I counted…and waited….waited for whatever held me captive to release me.

"She's coming around," Carlisle commented as he examined me yet again.

A soft sigh tickled my neck as it teased my hair. "Yeah, but she's going to wish she wasn't," Edward whispered, fear tingeing his words, or at least I thought it was fear. I couldn't tell for certain as I couldn't see whatever dark expression that accompanied those cryptic words, nor could I feel his emotions though I was making the effort to do so. _How odd. _

"I am afraid you are quite right," Carlisle conceded. "To think we were all so close by and still failed to protect her…"

Edward shifted and his hand finally stopped their automated circuit as he tensed. "They'll find her, Carlisle. They have to. It will kill Bella to lose-"

Felix interrupted, his voice sounding just as tense as my angel's and Carlisle's. "Demetri and Leah will arrive shortly." He paused for a full minute while I ticked off the seconds in my head and pondered everything they were saying. Then he added, "Christian is most insistent-"

"No!" Edward growled and his grip on me became uncomfortably tight. My hand squeezed his thigh and that one small movement silenced the men. I was half pissed at myself for interrupting what I was sure would have been an entertaining conversation. Even in my present state, I couldn't help wanting to know more about Christian_. Insistent about what?_

"Bella honey, can you hear me?" His warm lips covered every inch of my face, begging me to answer him, but I just wasn't able to.

The smell of chocolate wafted toward me and filled my lungs as I breathed it in deeply, hungrily. _Yasmin_. I remembered how much she loved hot chocolate and that I associated that particular smell exclusively with her. As I mused about her chocolate consumption I felt her hands skim over me and just knew without even seeing that she was peering at me with those freaky eyes, a little crease between her brows as her lips drew down into a frown.

"Soon." She muttered a low chant in some odd language. I guess it could be English. I was having a hard time keeping up. "Yes, she'll be conscious soon."

Her real scent bombarded me when she pulled her hand away and venom began to puddle in my mouth as I became entranced in the rhythm of her pulse beckoning to me enticingly.

"_Come and play little girl."_

The voice knocked the breath out of me. Kinly's beefy face flashed in my mind chasing Yasmin's intoxicating aroma, and the sound of her frantic pulse, away.

Oblivious to my inner struggles, Edward asked, "If you broke the curse, then why is she still unconscious?" The velvety music that was my husband's voice exorcised Kinly's evil words and his disturbing image from my mind and brought me back to reality.

She hesitated and her pulse spiked. They would all notice her fear, but what did it mean?

"She's…let's just wait for her to wake up. I can't know for certain what the spell's true objective was until I've had a chance to speak with her and perhaps even perform another ritual."

Her scalding hand touched me gently and a rumbling growl left my throat. Even as I was soothed by her light touch, I still wanted to sink my teeth deep into her creamy flesh and consume every last drop of her forbidden blood.

Felix whisked her from me and ended up at the far side of the room, his arms a protective cage around her tiny frame. "You need to leave. Now." Yasmin must've been about to argue because his voice grew stern as he said, "She was hungry before the curse. Your scent will drive her mad." She hissed something back at him and he raised his voice slightly, going all vampy on her, "You cannot be here when Bella awakens."

"I must. I need to make certain that all traces of that spell are gone," she retorted in a slightly louder voice than his. Ah, a screaming match. Well, why not? It's not like I was going anywhere. I might as well be entertained. It sure beat counting.

"You can look her over after she has hunted," Felix said in a voice that brooked no argument.

But Yasmin was either oblivious or unimpressed, because she replied just as forcefully, "I'm staying, Felix." She practically spat out his name making it something distasteful. "You can take that holier than thou attitude and shove it up your ancient ass. You are not my husband…my father…brother…you are nothing to me," she shouted angrily. Personally, I thought Devon had soaked up the last of her patience. He treated her as something less and she was not going to let another man get away with it, no matter how she felt about him.

A deep rumble vibrated through the room as Felix's anger got the better of him. Yeah, it was so time to wake up, because the tension level was reaching a fever pitch. I could vividly imagine the look of anger, irritation, and shock all mixed as one on Felix's lovely face and I erupted in giggles.

My eyes fluttered open, straining at the overhead light burning them. I turned a little seeking out my angel and was met with them most stunning set of caramel eyes.

"Bella!" Edward hugged me so tight that breathing was almost impossible; good thing it was also unnecessary. Excited words fell from his lip and for one moment everything seemed perfect until my eyes fell on a very pissed off Felix and an extremely irritated Yasmin who was now stalking purposely towards me.

My muscles bunched ready to attack as my predatory instincts took over. I tried to think past the monster warring in my head urging me to bathe in her blood. I held up my hand. "Don't, Yasmin," I whispered hoarsely under the strain of resistance. "He's right. I will attack you if you come any closer." I leaned my head against Edward's shoulder. "Don't let go," I begged him.

"Never," he swore.

I watched Yasmin turned on her heel and leave the room in a huff, every step full of anger. When she passed Felix his own rage deflated like a balloon and he hunched in on himself, looking utterly dejected.

"She didn't mean it," I offered.

He looked at me questioningly, his posture becoming rigid once more.

I sighed, but made no move to free myself from Edward's comforting embrace. "When she said you weren't anything to her…she didn't mean it. She just doesn't like being ordered around. She gets enough of that from Devon," I explained. Did it not go without saying that a person – man or woman – never liked being ordered around? Well, unless they are into D & S. Then I guess they would crave that domination…. My mind followed that train of thought forgetting that I was in the middle of a conversation with Felix. Suddenly, the idea of Edward ordering me around didn't seem so bad. Yeah, it bugged the hell out of me every other time he did it, but in bed… well that had possibilities.

I shook my head a little to dispel the image of Edward and I and returned my attention back to Felix. His eyes had fallen and he'd become quite immersed in his study of the carpet. "No, she meant every word and she was quite correct in the fact that I have no business interfering in her life. It is most certainly not my place. She has a husband to care for her; she does not need me." His expression broke my heart making me want to comfort him. I was about to disentangle myself from Edward to do just that when Yasmin strode back into the room with a large glass of blood, her wrist now taped up from where she'd sliced herself open.

"Drink!" She commanded. "Then I can perform the cleansing ritual."

God, she always smelled good; even poor Felix was struggling. What was wrong with this woman? Did she have a death wish? Cutting herself and serving her blood in a room with her Singer and a famished newborn. Not the smartest thing I'd ever seen.

I could barely speak past the venom overflowing in my mouth. "Uh…" I cleared my throat, but it didn't help. "I don't think that will be enough." Even as I spoke my hand darted out and took the glass eagerly. _Human blood. _I tried to hide the sheer ecstasy I felt as I brought that glass to my lips, but something told me I failed. Could be how tense Edward had become. I ignored him and gulped the delicious drink in one fast swallow and set the glass back down feeling guilty as Felix met my eyes with raw hunger. I was drinking blood of the woman he desired above all others. How fucking inconsiderate was that?

The burning sensation only increased and confirmed that I had indeed been right. The small appetizer had only heightened my hunger, made me want to rip Edward's now taut arms from me and close the distance between me and my human.

"We should've kept Jasper here," Edward muttered.

Carlisle chuckled. "So it would seem." I'd all but forgotten his presence in the room and started a little at the sound of his voice. If it was bad having Edward know how much I craved and enjoyed human blood, it was a hundred times worse that Carlisle had witnessed it.

She took another step forward; the monster inside me salivating even as I tried to remind myself that she was a friend not food. Yasmin just did not seem to get it. She had far too much faith in me. "Just hold her and I'll complete the ritual quickly. There's not much to it."

Felix jumped out of his seat so fast that I could've sworn his ass had caught fire and rushed across the room to her side. "You are not going anywhere near her!" Felix roared, his words thundering throughout the room leaving Yasmin cowering in their wake. He grabbed her arm roughly and I growled at him as he stopped my prey from delivering itself to me, but he took no notice of me. "She would tear your throat out and think nothing of it until your cold, dead body hit the floor," he seethed, his chest heaving.

Carlisle joined Edward adding his immense strength to the mix. "Please, Yasmin, be reasonable. She is in no fit state to answer questions or submit to an examination of any kind." Ever the voice of reason. I remembered all too clearly when he had used that same patronizing tone with me. I think it infuriated her as much as it had me.

Felix's grip on her became almost violent as he tried to force her from me amidst her string of protests. Boy, she was very intent on performing the ritual.

No, by the look in her eyes - there was fear there - I could see that his words were getting through. She understood that I could no longer control myself. The only reason she held her ground was because she didn't like the way Felix was dealing with her. Pride was a Deadly Sin for a just this reason.

Felix gave up all pretense of civility and swept her up in his arms while she shouted a string of profanities and pounded her little fists against him. He grabbed both of her hands in one of his to keep her from breaking her delicate bones on his hard flesh, but otherwise ignored her rantings and strode from the room with her. I could recall all too vividly what happened when a mere human decided to assault a supernatural being because I'd done just that when Jacob had stolen a kiss from me. I was thankful that Felix had enough sense to make certain that she didn't physically damage herself in her fit of rage.

"Well, that was entertaining," Edward mused, a deep chuckle emanating from his chest and his hold on me lessened some. If I wasn't so pissed about losing my meal, I'd have probably joined in with their laughter. How I could be both concerned about her breaking a hand while hitting him and upset that I couldn't eat her was a mystery, but I was.

"Shall we hunt, then?" Carlisle asked once his laughter subsided.

I growled, my throat burning like someone had shoved a hot poker down it and Edward nodded, "I think that's a yes," he commented lightly.

"I fear it's going to be quite a chore," Carlisle noted darkly.

* * *

**A/N: The next post answers more questions and will be posted soon. I'm going to watch Dragonball and then I'll finish revising it. Maybe tomorrow, then? Hope everyone's Easter holiday was good.**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	22. Chapter 22 Sensual Distractions

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I know I said you'd get this on Sunday, but there've been some health issues in my family. I hope you enjoy it. It's been a while since I've actually enjoyed writing it. Some lemony sweetness ahead. So, if that's not your cup of tea, just skip over that part. Been a while since I've had a good smutty scene. Felt good to write that bit again. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 22 Sensual Distractions**

I leaned against the car while the guys grabbed the last of our luggage, and took in my temporary home. The new house was obscene in its richness. I mean, who needed a multi-million dollar temporary home? It had to be the biggest waste of money I'd ever seen, and I was slated to stay here for the foreseeable future.

The guys moved past carrying the last of our bags and Yasmin joined me, her scent bombarding me; fortunately my time spent with Carlisle and Edward had been successful. There was a significant shortage of animals in New Orleans since I'd spent the last several hours gorging. Finally I was sated, and could once again bear to be near Yasmin without lusting after her blood.

Esme stood on the top stone steps looking both pleased and wary. I'd been seeing a lot of that look lately. Something was up, but so far no one seemed inclined to fill me in. I could understand. I'd only been coherent for the last hour and most of that time was spent in the back of Carlisle's Mercedes making out with Edward. I could still taste him on my lips and smell him on my clothes.

As I reached Esme she pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh my dear, I'm so pleased to see you up and around again." She pushed me through the door and toward the grand staircase. "Rosalie has your room all ready for you."

She led me so quickly through the mansion that I barely had time to register what each room looked like as I passed them. Gaudy. That was one word that could sum it up. Marble, whites, golds, crystals, lots of paintings, and it didn't escape my notice that a pearly white grand piano occupied a large space near the back window that overlooked an enclosed back yard with a pool. I'm sure there was more, but keeping up with Esme's frantic pace sort of blurred it all together.

My room was done in what else? Royal blue. Curse Edward for ever letting them know how much he liked that color on me. The furniture was all black lacquered and the walls had a sapphire shadow stripe wall paper meeting a starkly white carpet.

On one wall was Edward's collection of music and his state of the art, completely unnecessary, sound system, while the other wall was devoted to my most prized possession - shelves upon shelves of books.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked hopefully, walking around tidying up items that weren't out of place in order to keep herself occupied. Their odd behavior was getting on my nerves, but I knew better than to interrogate Esme. They would tell me when they were ready.

I smiled weakly. It was a little much to take in all at once. It looked like we were planning on staying here for a while which didn't please me on many levels, but mostly because of the amount of sunshine that New Orleans seemed to bask in. "It's nice," I commented lightly while wishing for a place completely different, colder, less homey. I wanted to go back to Volterra. In fact, the desire to make Volterra my true home had been growing steadily with each passing day. I was terrified of broaching the subject with Edward, but I wouldn't be able to put it off much longer.  
The Cullens were ready to return to New Hampshire and start school again, but I feared with my track record and my addiction to human blood that that life was truly lost to me. I knew Edward would follow me wherever I went, but that didn't mean he would be happy about it. He would not thrive in Volterra. I, on the other hand, would rest easy there where I wouldn't have to interact with humans if I didn't want to.

Would they hate me for stealing Edward from their family? And what about Alice? I…

"Where's Alice?" I suddenly asked as a snippet of a conversation hit me. Alice was supposed to have a vision. Charlie had said she would, that it would be okay if I…slept? Yes, slept. I shook my head trying to dispel the hazy images and jumbled fragments of conversations. None of that had happened. I hadn't talked to Charlie in ages.

Esme frowned and avoided my eyes while her hands smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles from the bedspread. "She and Jasper are running an errand," she finally replied in a clipped tone. She gave one last look around the room. "Let me know if you need anything, dear." She left as Edward glided in carrying my luggage which he flung on the bed, messing up Esme's perfection. Good thing she wasn't there to notice how disheveled the bed was now; she'd no doubt reprimand Edward for his thoughtlessness.

He swept me into his arms as his foot hooked the door and slammed it close while his lips ravaged mine. Gods, the man could kiss like no other. I lost myself to the sensation of his hot lips devouring mine; all thoughts of Volterra, Alice, and the secret they were all keeping from me floated away under his ministrations.

He was slowly moving us backwards never breaking the kiss, and my ass bumped into the long dresser with its high mirror. His hands cradled my hips, picking me effortlessly from the floor before depositing me on the dresser. "You have got to stop doing this to me," he murmured, his tongue licking over my lips before trailing down my throat. "I can't take it, Bella." He pulled back and stared at me. "Do you hear me?" A small smile ghosted his lips. "I cannot be without you again. Not for one minute, so you need to start taking care of yourself. These past two days were very nearly the death of me."

My hands gripped his hips firmly wedging his body between my welcoming legs and laughed. "I'll see what I can do about it," I conceded. Like it was in my hands. Hell, I'd been with the most protective creature on the planet and he'd been utterly helpless against the spell. "But," I nuzzled his neck, breathing my hot breath against him and loving the feel of him shuddering under my light touch, "I don't want to talk about that anymore," I purred. Yes, purred. I could be sexy and seductive when I wanted, and right now I wanted.

He flashed me that crooked grin that would've melted my heart if it were still alive. "You, my love, are insatiable."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't been laid in two freaking days." I cringed to emphasize what a horrible fact that was. To have a man like Edward and not make love to him several times a day was a total waste.

"Hmmm, I must admit it was hard to control myself around all those voodoo women that Yasmin brought," his eyes twinkled at me mischievously, "but somehow I managed."

I poked him in the stomach and he squirmed away. "You managed," I huffed then a sly smile filled my lips. "Well then, I'll just have to work extra hard to make you forget about those women." My eyes darkened a moment as I remembered the Playboy –esque woman that worked at the Voodoo shop. Had she been there? Because, then there might be some truth to his words.

I didn't have time to brood on my unwarranted jealousy because my shirt seemed to have a mind of its own and had hooked itself over the doorknob. "Nice shot," I said and motioned with my head towards the door. He barely glanced away before returning to the last offending material hindering his access to my breasts.

His hands molded over my peaks, our eyes locked on each other – his black with lust, mine still rimmed in red. "We don't have much time," he murmured regrettably, "but I can't wait another second to feel you under me, surrounding me…" He closed his eyes and leaned forward so our mouths were a breath apart. "…fucking me." And a thrill of excitement and lust zinged through me at those final words. Maybe he was on to something by refusing to speak so crassly, because when he did finally utter vulgar things, my whole body thrummed with anticipation and desire.

I had no idea what my reply would've been because in a blurring motion he'd ripped my pants and underwear from me, leaving me naked and open to him. I reached for his belt, but he grabbed both of my hands in one of his and used the other one to remove his belt, his obsidian eyes never leaving my face, and before I even knew what he was doing my hands were bound with it. Obviously that weak leather belt couldn't truly bind me, but I had no interest in escape, in fact, he could tie me up any way he wanted right then and blindfold me, and I'd just beg him for more.

He latched the belt over the top of the mirror, my chest pushed out invitingly from being stretched so high, and he walked away. He just fucking walked away. "Where the fuck are you going?" I cried, the ache at the junction of my legs throbbing with each step he took from me.

I sighed forcefully as I watched him rifle through the closet. He had two more belts and a silk scarf in one hand. He fiddled with something on a shelf across from me and made his way back to the dresser.

"I thought we were under a time constraint."

He chuckled as he bent low to tie each leg to the handles of the dresser drawers. What do you bet that we break at least one thing on what had to be an overpriced piece of furniture?

"I've decided I don't care. Nothing's going to change in the next hour, so why skimp on the sex?" He supplied.

He trailed that silk scarf down my thigh. "Remember this?" He asked.

How could I forget? It was the same scarf that he'd used on our honeymoon. I nodded, but words failed me as I was transported back to that yacht. Every detail as rich and vibrant today as it was when it happened thanks to my power over memories. How I would've kicked myself for demanding to have sex as a human if I'd lost my human memories once I was turned vampire like so many others before me.

"Good," he whispered. "Did you know that night is my most cherished memory?" He asked as he began slowly stripping – first his shirt then his faded jeans and lastly his black silk boxers.

I swallowed hard at the sight of his arousal and wanted to take all of it into my mouth. I'd been too inexperienced and frightened to do it on my honeymoon, but now…now it was one of my favorite things to do and in my current position I would be denied that delicious act.

His hand encircled his shaft and I moaned at the visual. He stroked himself several times, his eyes boring into mine and I was suddenly wet and ready for him to shove all of that into me again and again.

"You want this?" He asked in his low, velvety voice that burned over very inch of me and inside me to places that could never be touched.

"God yes. Please Edward." But he didn't move one step closer, just kept stroking himself, groaning slightly. Who knew Edward had this in him? The last time I brought up something less than romantic he'd flipped out and made me feel like a freak and now he was masturbating in front of me and getting off on the hungry look in my eyes.

"Beg me," he commanded in a voice thick with desire.

I said please. That was begging in my book, but apparently more was needed. I licked my lips dying to wrap them around his cock and noticed a flick of red light for the first time from the shelf behind him. A camera. He was recording this. Okay. I was all for a XXX movie as long as we guarded it with our lives. God knows I'd learned much from Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton.

"Edward," I breathed, trying to ignore the video camera, but now that I was aware of it, it was kind of hard to ignore. "I need to feel all of that in me…I need you to take this deep ache away…I need you to make me whole. Please?"

His hand fell away and he strode across the floor pulling my hips to the edge of the dresser top, my arms stretching uncomfortably and the pain only spiked my arousal. He gave me a knowing look. Surely he could smell how much I desired him because I could smell his arousal with every breath I took. "Fuck me….before I go up in flames…just fuck me," I urged.

The little bastard just gave me a wicked smile and moved all that hardness that had just been pressed against me out of reach while he bent his head to my breast and sucked powerfully.

My hands pulled at the restraint in an effort to grab his hair and weld him to me, but I didn't want to break my bonds, they heightened my pleasure far too much. Small noise escaped my lips as he nibbled, caressed, teased, and licked me. His scalding breaths were streaming over my hot sex and I couldn't keep from quivering as I waited for him to bow his head and taste me.

"Edward…fuck…I need to feel your mouth on me…" I squirmed trying to force what I wanted, but as I was his prisoner, I couldn't just grind my damp mound against his face. Thankfully, it didn't matter; he took pity on me, or maybe he enjoyed pleasuring me like this as much as I liked doing it to him, whatever the reason, he dipped his head between my legs and gave me a long, slow lick drinking in my juices and chuckling deeply at the words falling from my lips and the guttural, almost animalistic, sounds the followed.

"My, my, my. You are a naughty thing. Keep in mind that Esme is downstairs and can hear all those foul little curses."

He stood up and grabbed the blindfold securing it around me. "Maybe I should gag you, as well," he commented lightly as he gave the silk a firm tug. "Would you like that, love?"

"Whatever you want, just do me. God dammit, Edward. I'm on fire. Every inch of me. You're driving me insane."

His lips fed on mine silencing my pleas. "I know. You like it, you know you do. Now shut up and let me get back to ravishing you."

And ravish me he did-with his hands and his mouth, but I wanted more.

The good thing about him going out of his way to drive me crazy was that he wasn't immune to his own torture. Each orgasm he drew from me affected him, even though I couldn't physically do anything. I didn't need my eyes to know that he was about to succumb to his sexual desires. It pulsed in the air letting me know that the dull pain inside me that could only be assuaged by his hard cock was about to be a thing of the past.

When the tip of him grazed my entrance a string of profanities whispered across me. Something about that man spewing vulgar words that just did it for me.

"I'm not going to last," he bit out as he shoved all of himself inside me in one sure stroke. "Seeing you like this," his finger trailed down my cheek and I wanted to tear the scant bit of fabric that was hindering my view of his tortured face. "All bound and open." He pulled almost all the way out before slamming into me tearing a grunt from both of our throats. "Mine to do with as I please." Thrust. "Hearing you scream my name." Thrust. "Shuddering around me." Again he pounded into me winding me up tighter with each movement. "Is it enough to make you forget _him_?" I stilled, my whole body tense as I caught those barely audible words murmured to himself. I don't think he even realized that he'd said them out loud.

"Edward," I sighed in defeat. I'd done this to him; made him insecure and uncertain. "Look at me." It was an odd thing to say since I was blindfolded.

He ignored me and continued pushing into me, changing the angle slightly so he hit my G-spot repeatedly sending me spiraling into another world where thoughts were impossible, only feelings existed as he pumped a few more times into me and screamed my name as he released inside me.

His forehead leaned against mine, our hot, frantic breath mingling together. "I love you, Edward. More than anything. Please believe that. I'm so sorry for the way I hurt you, but…I never, not for one moment, stopped loving you." I sought his lips with my own and he served them up to me while his hands tugged at the blindfold. All the love I felt shined in my eyes for him to see. It wouldn't be enough to erase my past and that guilt gnawed at me.

He searched my gaze for an interminable minute, then slid his hands over my arms to unhook the belt and release my bonds. I wrapped them around him as he cupped my cheeks in his tentative hands. "You're my everything, Bella. Love isn't a strong enough word to describe what I feel for you." He kissed me softly before continuing, "But why are you apologizing to me again for what happened? Why bring it up now?" His eyes narrowed. "Were you listening to my thoughts?" He demanded.

I shook my head. "You know I wouldn't." Truth was I should've caught some of them due to Aro's power. Even though I'd learned much control over them, in the middle of sex it was hard for me to keep Aro's power at bay.

Disbelief tinged his features. What all had he been thinking to react this way? And clearly he was unaware that he'd said anything out loud. "Why, what were you thinking?"

He closed his eyes for a second then knelt to the floor to unbind my ankles. " Nothing. Let's take a quick shower and get downstairs." He stared at me intensely for a second then turned on his heels. "I've put this off long enough," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

They were being oddly closed lipped about things. Yasmin, I could tell, wanted to talk to me. So far she'd been denied access to me and it was putting her in a very foul mood. Even now, I could hear her snipping at Felix who was rubbing her the wrong way in everything he said. Even to me, he sounded barbaric, almost like the man I met the first time in Volterra. His arrogance and his sneering demeanor that had made me dislike him so was firmly in place and the Felix that I'd come to know and love was nowhere to be seen.

I zipped up my jeans and ran my fingers through my hair while Edward finished getting dressed. We'd showered together, but the mood was ruined. All that was left between us once again was tension. I swear, each time I think we're making progress something happens to undo it. It's like taking two steps forward and a giant leap back.

To escape from the uncomfortable situation I suggested, "Maybe you could talk to Felix. He's digging himself a hole that he's not going to be able to climb out of with her."

He sighed and unzipped the suitcase to begin unpacking. "I don't think it will help. Yasmin is going out of her way to be…difficult. I swear, I think she's channeling Leah or something."

"Please," I scoffed. As if anyone could be as venomous as Leah Clearwater. "He's gone all caveman. How do you guys expect her to react?"

Edward took an armful of clothes over to the dresser that was the site of the most mind-blowing sex ever and began sorting them in each drawer. "God forbid he tries to protect her from her lack of self preservation." I watched as he rolled his eyes in the mirror that had smudges from where I'd been pressed up against it.

"Men!" I complained and opened the door. "I'll talk some sense into him. You just keep on unpacking, okay?"

"Whatever," he murmured. "Um, Bella?"  
I turned back.

"I need to tell you something. We were waiting to hear from Jasper, but if they don't contact us soon…" His eyes dropped as though he couldn't bear to meet my gaze any longer. I waited for him to finish but he just returned to the suitcase and grabbed some more clothes.

"Alright. Whatever. I'm just going to go put Sir Felix in his place." Stupid men. I raced down the stairs and flitted between the arguing duo. "Mind if I steal him away for a sec?" I asked, a beatific smile plastered on my face.

Her's softened in reaction and she nodded. "It's not like I'm getting anywhere with him anyway, is it?" She turned her stern eyes on Felix and her anger returned in full force.

"I hear everything you are saying," Felix bit out. "It is not my fault that you lack common sense. I don't think I have ever met a more irrational…" he floundered as he tried to find the perfect word to describe her behavior earlier today. "…senseless human in all of my years."

"Felix," I groaned.

"Senseless, am I? Why, because I won't bow down to the almighty vampire?"

"Let's go, Felix." I physically led him away from the seething voodoo priestess. "If you're not careful she's gonna curse you. You don't want to end up lusting after Edward or something, do you? Cause, I think she might be able to do something like that. And then I'd have to hurt you for hitting on my man."

He burst out laughing. "I think that spell might have done more to you than just the obvious; you're talking nonsense."

"Or," I went on. "She could make you impotent," I suggested chuckling as I remembered how much ribbing Edward had taken on the subject.

He hissed. "Don't even joke about such matters!"

Still giggling I said, "Why, it's not like you need to be at top form right now. Yasmin can't stand to be anywhere near you because every time you open your mouth you stick your foot in it."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I'm talking about your domineering, dictator ways. You cannot just order her around. Even if you two were together, you couldn't do that. Is it truly so hard for men to be reasonable and to ask women nicely to do something? Do you have to be such a brute about it?"

"Bella, she was going to serve herself right up to you like a thousand dollar bottle of French wine. Forgive me if the thought of what you were planning on doing to her frightened me and caused me to act rashly," he said, sarcasm dripping from each word.

"See? You're still doing it."

"Woman, you are driving me insane. All I'm doing is-"

"Being a condescending bastard?" I suggested with a full grin on my face.

He regarded me for a moment then smiled. "Fine. A bastard. My most humble apologies, My Lady." He took my hand and kissed it reverently while bowing low.

"Oh, for God's sake. Knock it off." I yanked him back to his feet. "Now, go back and be the charming Felix that I've come to love. Yasmin won't stand a chance if that's the man offering _suggestions_. Notice I said suggestions and not commands, you Neanderthal."

"Duly noted." He appraised me, a small smile curving on his lips. "So, did you have fun? I think even the humans a few miles down the road could hear you two," he snickered.

I bowed my head in embarrassment thankful for my lack of blood that my face wasn't flushing cherry. "Yeah, but as usual I messed it up."

"How so?" He leaned against the piano.

"He doesn't know he said it, but he was wondering if the phenomenal sex we were having was enough to make me forget Christian."

He let out a low whistle and shook his head. "You two. Only you two could screw up such a divine moment. What am I going to do with you guys?"

A loud crash upstairs ended our heart-to-heart sending both of our gazes to the ceiling where my room would be. "What the…?"

We ran back up the stairs, Esme and Rosalie already peering in uncertainly.

"Edward," Rose asked. He slammed the door in her face. She shared a look with Esme. "Man, is he pissed."

Felix and I exchanged looks. I tried to taste his emotions, but there was nothing, so I tired to listen to his thoughts and again nothing. "You know," I glanced back at Felix, "I think something _is_ wrong with me."

He snickered causing both Rose and Esme to glare at us. I guess it was inappropriate as Edward was having a fit about something and I should probably be dealing with that. "I told you that curse damaged you somehow."

"I'm serious, Felix. I can't use Jasper's power or Edward's…" I remembered how Aro's power hadn't flared up during sex earlier either. "Or Aro's."

That got his attention. "Try to use another power…" a seductive smile curved his lips. "Alyria's, perhaps?" He suggested hopefully.

I gave him the look his comment deserved and smacked his shoulder. "You know, talk like that is going to get both of us in troub…" I stopped abruptly as understanding washed over me. Edward had been unpacking my suitcase. The same suitcase that had Christian's letter hidden in the lining. How the Gods must hate me to heap this mess at my feet right now. "Oh my god," I whispered, suddenly scared to death. I hadn't even read the damn letter. God only knew what it said.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie asked. "You look like you saw a ghost, and since you're already pale that is saying something."

I clutched my stomach certain that all the blood I'd feasted on hours ago was about to make it's way back up_. Please, please, please, let it be something else. My marriage can't take another blow,_ I recited again and again to myself while his words about Christian resonated within me.

The bedroom door finally opened and Edward came out without so much as a trace of anger on his flawless features. He smiled gently at me as he wrapped his hand around mine and led me downstairs. What the heck? The others followed behind and took their seats around the living room while Edward pulled me down to his lap. Carlisle glided in through the front door with Demetri and Leah. She nodded her head at me, her nose wrinkling in distaste as the smell of seven vampires accosted her. No matter how used to Demetri's scent she might be, being around all of us was bound to disgust her.

Felix introduced Yasmin to Leah before taking the seat closest to me and looking expectantly at Edward.

"Alice texted me. She said to send Demetri down there as soon as possible." Each person in the room held the same look of distress which only grew with each word that Edward uttered, though he didn't say anything that should elicit such a response. Clearly, I was missing something.

"Did they find her?"

Edward shook his head and each pair of eyes were suddenly trained on me and all of them were filled with pity.

The floor fell out from under me. Whatever it was, it was bad and I suddenly didn't want to know what they were talking about. I just wanted to go back an hour in time where I was blissfully ignorant and happy in Edward's loving embrace. Instinct told me to just get up and run and I think I would have if Edward hadn't tightened his hold on me as though he was aware of my grand scheme to avoid whatever hard truth they so desperately did not want to share with me.

"Just say it," I mumbled. "Whatever you guys are all in on, just say it."

Carlisle floated to the middle of the room to stand in front of me appraising me as he did so. "Your mother is missing."

I sucked in air sharply as memories of my dream assaulted me. Newspapers with my mom's picture. "_Abduction_," it had read. No, _one_ of them had read. There'd been another. One that had announced her death.

Carlisle was still talking, but his words were meaningless. I'd just wasted the last few hours here doing absolutely nothing, while my mom was in trouble. What the hell was wrong with everyone? Why were we not in Florida looking for her and how could Edward keep such a thing from me and use sex as a distraction?

"Bella?" Edward's smooth voice licked across my ear. I shoved his hands aside as rage hotter than hell itself boiled in me and I bounded off his lap.

"How could you?" I growled, a fine trembled coursing through me as I fought off the urge to do physical violence. "All this time and you've done nothing. No, not nothing, we did have sex, after all." I glowered at the others. "And you," I pointed at Rose and Esme, "did such an amazing job decorating this lovely house while some madman-"

"Bella," Carlisle interjected calmly, though I could tell he was irritated by my outburst and deep down I was embarrassed by what I'd said. Jasper and Alice were clearly on the job. It wasn't like they weren't doing anything. What more could Edward have done? He was busy taking care of me in my comatose state. "Please listen, we haven't sat idly by these last two days. Demetri has come all the way from Washington to track her and Jasper and Alice have been busy searching for clues while we looked after you."

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head. "You're right. I know that." My eyes fell on Demetri. "And thank you. Both of you, for coming all this way to help."

Leah stood and hesitantly walked toward me. "He would move heaven and hell for you, Bella, you know that." She hugged me quickly then took a giant step back. "And I'll do whatever I can to help. It would kill Charlie to lose Renee and having lost a parent, I know exactly what it would do to you."

But I wasn't concentrating on her anymore. All I heard was "kill Charlie" and the memory of the newspaper article about Charlie crashed into me and made me stumble. I looked at her in horror. "Charlie! He's in danger too," I blubbered and probably would've collapsed if it weren't for Leah and Edward keeping me upright while I tried to explain my incoherent memories to them.

The room was utterly silent.

Yasmin's honey voice finally broke it. "I think that one of the goals of the spell was to block you from your visions." She stood to her full height, which wasn't much, the light from the chandelier glancing off her bald head, her hand wringing nervously together. "I should have been able to trace the curse back to its originator, but each time I got close I met a new obstacle. Whoever is attacking you, is well versed in more than just voodoo, Bella. This person is so far out of my league," she said between clenched teeth. I knew she was supposed to be the most powerful voodoo priestess in the country, and having to admit that there was someone here that was more powerful than her was a brutal blow to her ego. "I don't know how much help I can be. They seem especially attuned to my powers. In fact, they seem considerably knowledgeable about both of us."

I nodded and licked my lips as I let my full weight rest against Edward's chest, his scent surrounding me and offering comfort. "Some of my powers are gone. Could that be what the spell was for? Can someone steal my powers to use for their own purpose?"

"Which powers?" Yasmin asked.

"Well, I can't be sure as I haven't tried to use all of them, but so far Aro's, Jasper's and Edward's."

"So, powers that you in essence stole from them?"

"No, not stole," Carlisle defended. "She has the ability to accumulate powers, but when she does so it doesn't adversely affect the person she collected them from."

She waved her hand dismissively. "But the powers you had that were all yours, do you still have those?"

I touched Edward and shared with him my memories while I'd been locked in my mind and he gasped when he relived them as though they were his own. "Apparently," I admitted. "I just shared a memory with Edward."

Edward shuddered slightly, his face contorted in fear and anger. "The man…you called him Kinly, who is he?"

**A/N: Okies, please let me know what you think. Thanks.**


	23. Chapter 23 Playing With Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**Didn't really go through it too closely for errors. Hopefully there won't be too many.**

**Chapter 23 Playing With Fire**

I'd withdrawn to the back of the room while the others talked over each other and made arrangements. No one seemed to notice that I was slowly retreating from the house because I was no longer an integral part of offensive strategy. With the loss of most of my powers, I became irrelevant.

My feet carried me without my mind consciously deciding to move and I found myself at the edge of the figure-eight pool, the blue water shining brightly in the noon sun, but not as much as my own skin which was casting beautiful rainbows on the shimmery water.

I swallowed hard trying to rid myself of the fear that was lodged in my throat as my mind replayed those visions again and again. My mother was going to die - was probably already dead and I couldn't help her. All my power and it was worthless.

A small sound fell from my lips as I collapsed on the cement, my feet dangling in the water. This was all my fault. I'd brought all of this supernatural shit into my family's life and then ran off with the Cullens leaving mere mortals to fend for themselves.

The sounds of feet barely touching the walkway and his scent were noted, but I didn't stop my self recrimination. It felt good to mentally flog myself for my selfishness and I didn't want Edward's meaningless words of comfort to get in the way of that.

"Demetri and Leah left," Edward spoke softly as he crouched down beside me and smoothed his hand over my hair. "They'll be in Jacksonville in an hour, maybe less. If anyone can find Renee, it's Demetri."

I pushed his hand away with more force than I meant to and floated to my feet nodding continually, hysteria creeping up on me. The sting of my actions was evident on his perfect face, though he did hide it well. Demetri would find my mom, no doubt about that lurked in my mind; what permeated my very soul was whether she'd be found alive or dead.

"I need to be alone," I blurted out frantically and when my eyes finally met his I saw my reflection in them. The breakdown I was suffering inside was clear to see on the outside, as well. My eyes were wide and void of life, my featured grim, my body cold and clammy.

He took me into his warm arms, but they did nothing to dispel the chill that gripped my body. "Love, the last thing you need is to be alone. Look at you. You're falling apart. And who could blame you?" He pulled me closer. I didn't go willingly nor did I resist; I just stood there and let him feel like he was doing something useful. If he cared about what I wanted and needed, he'd have let me go so I could work through this on my own, as it was; he was forcing physical contact to reassure himself.

When my arms remained stubbornly at my side he sighed and pulled away, his eyes boring into mine. "You're angry with me." He made it a statement rather than a question. Was I? Yeah, I guess it was easier to share the guilt that had become such a heavy burden and that's exactly what I was doing. Blaming Edward for keeping my mother's abduction from me and having sex with me while she was suffering god knew what at the hands of a madman, one that just happened to be stronger than Yasmin and who had stripped me of most of my powers. Edward had been focused on getting off while my mom was frightened and fighting for her life; surely my anger was justified.

"Gee, Edward, I can't imagine why I might be a bit put out with you," I snapped, taking a few steps away from him. "My mom's in trouble and somehow you think a good fuck will make it all better."

Now I'd done it. His anger was like a whip as it filled his stormy eyes. "That is not how it was and you know it."

"Whatever. I'm going upstairs…by myself." I spun around without waiting for a reply or his reaction and leaped up to the second floor balcony.

I sat on the hard floor and drew my knees up so I could rest my head on them and think. The breeze soothed me in a way that nothing else could and I stopped wallowing and tried to figure out the best way to deal with things.

My mother's fate rested in others' hands, so there was no point fretting about it. Charlie, and the vision I'd had about him, was what was important. According to my vision I had some time before that future became a reality. The wolves would protect Charlie with their lives and were certainly strong enough to do so against a vampire, but this wasn't a vampire they were dealing with; they were no match against the oncoming threat.

With Demetri gone, I felt Charlie's chances of surviving my vision were less likely. Why a vampire was likelier to keep Charlie safe when a pack of wolves could not, I didn't know, but I knew that I'd feel better if there were vampires nearby. Fortunately there were - in Seattle; the problem was forcing myself to do something I'd sworn not to do – call Christian. It had to be Christian because Alyria would never leave Viktor and she would require Kattra's help with the other two newborns even though both Anna and Melody already had most of their newborn urges under control, especially Anna since she had another way to feed and quite that bloodlust.

I scrolled though my cell and highlighted his number, my finger hovering over the 'send' button while my heart and mind warred with one another. Edward would feel betrayed that I asked him to protect Charlie, but this was about my dad's life, not our mess of a marriage. _Thank God Edward can't read my mind. _With that thought, I hit the button and within two rings heard his smooth voice in my ear again.

"Christian," my voice cracked under the weight of emotion. "I need your help." _Stick to business. Just ignore the flutter in your stomach, the way his voice sounds, all of it, and keep it purely business._

The silence stretched out for what seemed an eternity, and then he replied, "You know you only need but ask and I will do anything for you, Bella." The sound of my name from his mouth affected me more than I wanted to admit and all the feelings I'd buried away suddenly came to light again. This was why I could never see him again. No matter how much I wanted to forget about him, to get over him, I couldn't. Time and distance made it easier to pretend, but a part of me would always ache for him.

I shook my head to clear my mind and explained to him everything that was happening. "I'd just feel better if you were there," I finished. "But I'd understand if you didn't want to-"

"Do not even finish that sentence. I told you I would do anything for you and this is but a small thing to ask. Of course I'll go to Forks, my only request is that you clear it with the wolves first. I really have no desire to fight them while trying to protect your father."

Once we finished hammering out the details and a brief three way phone conference with Sam to notify the pack of Christian's presence in Forks, I started to rattle off a quick goodbye and thanks, but Christian wasn't having any of that.

"I waited for a response to my letter," he said, disappointment evident in his tone.

I bit my nails while I tried to come up with something that would lessen his distress and not get me into trouble with Edward. It was a fine line to walk and so far I'd done an abominable job of it. "I couldn't read it, Christian. Please try to understand…it was too soon."

"Oh." He paused briefly then continued, "I never even considered that you might not read it," he admitted. "So, you did not read it because you are not over me?"

"Don't delude yourself, Christian. It was a fling." Good thing this was a phone conversation because my face would've have told him a completely different story.

"And a wonderful fling it was." His voice had gone all deep and dark sending jolts of electricity through me that I quickly and firmly pushed away. _Edward. Think about Edward._ "But…," he droned on focusing my attention back on him, "…you and I know better, don't we, Love? You can keep telling yourself that that's all it was, but it does not change the fact that there is something very real between us."

I sighed loudly. "You don't know anything."

"I know that you want me so much that you can't bear to be in the same city as me, that you could not even read my letter because you might have just hopped on a plane and thrown yourself into my arms…and Bella, I know that right this second, your whole body is burning for me. The sound of my voice…the memory of our night together, they make you ache for me. You know how I know this?"

I shook my head forgetting that he couldn't see the small movement, but it didn't matter. My silence was exactly what he was looking for.

"Because I feel it too. Isabella, the moment I saw your number on my phone I could barely breathe for want of you."

"Stop," I whimpered as his voice wound its way around my heart and burrowed deep into my soul.

"I think about you every day. Every day."

This had to end and if he wouldn't be a gentleman about it, then I'd do it my self, dammit. "I'm sure Kattra helps you forget," I quipped. "Oh, and lets not forget about your little succubus. I bet she requires a lot of you attention. A perfect distraction."

He chuckled then replied soberly, "They make it bearable."

"I'll just bet they do."

"Why, Bella love, I do believe you are jealous. Shall we examine what that might mean?"

"No we _shall_ not," I hissed losing control of my temper but liking the fact that I was no longer turning to mush at the mere sound of his voice.

"Alright then, how about a change in topics? Are things between you and Edward better?"

"Some days," I admitted, "others…not so much. Today would be one of those 'other' days."

"Ah, I see. Would you have called me if you and Edward weren't fighting?"

My brows pulled together in irritation. "Yes, I would have. My father's life is more important than both of your male egos," I snapped. Though, if I were honest with myself, I probably would have run this idea by Edward before setting it up.

I stood and made my way into my room while the long pause stretched out.

"I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. I just…well, I am in love with you and the thought of you back in his arms again makes me say stupid things. Forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I made this mess, not you. It's me that owes you an apology."

"Please don't. Do not apologize for what was the most memorable night of my whole existence, Bella. Do not lessen that moment for me."

I closed my eyes stamping down the feelings his words stirred in me. "I have to go and you need to get to Forks," I reminded him. "And please be careful," I pleaded because I knew that it would destroy a part of me if he died in an effort to protect my dad.

"Love you," he murmured before I snapped the phone closed.

Something foul filled me and a man's voice whispered through my mind._ "You're to late, my girl. Too late to save your mom, but I'll make you a deal. I'll leave her body somewhere easy to find, how's that sound?"_

"_Who are you?" _I asked, my mouth going dry. I knew the voice, but every time I got close to naming him, it eluded me, just like earlier when I'd been stuck in that magically induced coma.

"_Names are unimportant. What is important is that you understand that I don't desire your mother's death…just her psychic gifts. And that there's nothing you can do to save her."_

**A/N: Again I split this into 2 posts because of the length. I have the rest of the story mapped out (20 pages just in outline) so it should def be done by June. One question: What should become of Kayden? Keep in mind that he's in his early fifties and no special abilities aside for an affinity toward technology. I just haven't been able to come up with a happy solution because Aro wants him dead. Well, not just him, but all the humans who know about vampires. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Love hearing your thoughts. Sometimes they give me some really fun ideas. **

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	24. Chapter 24 In My Darkest Hour

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**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/n: Thanks so much for the lovely reviews. Each and every one of them puts a smile on my face. Story took on a life of its own as often happens to me. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 24 In Your Darkest Hour**

His presence was consuming me to the point where I was no longer aware of my surroundings. I was hanging on his every word, desperate to find the smallest hint of information that could lead me to my mother.

"_She doesn't have any powers."_

"_Oh, but she does, my fair nosferatu. Just as you had powers to a lesser degree as a human, so too, do your parents."_ I could hear the excitement in his words as he went on about my family's powers and just as suddenly I could sense the swift change in his demeanor to one of disappointment. _"Your mother, lovely though she may be, did not carry the lion's share of the power."_

"_Then let her go."_

"_I'm afraid that is impossible. The process has already begun, you see. I do wish that I had chosen your father first as he must possess the bulk of the power, untapped, yet purely concentrated. Even stronger than yours, Mistress of Darkness. I let geography dictate my movements. After all, Florida was so bloody close to New Orleans."_

"_You'll never get within a hundred miles of my dad,"_ I growled, my body turning to ice at this man's blasé attitude about the death of my parents.

Pain raked through my mind like a thousand knives slashing at me. I collapsed to my knees while he angrily reprimanded me. _"You think you can stop me? I am nowhere near your divine body and yet you are the one wallowing on the floor like some helpless creature. Your powers are now mine, Bella. Your threats mean nothing to me. Rest assured, I will not only get past all of your security, I will rip his powers from him and once he's given all he can give, his body will quit…he will die, and you, my lovely little vampire, are powerless to stop me."_

The pain lessened as he finished gloating and I could think again. "_Why are you doing this?"_

"_To take back what's mine."_

_"And that would be?"_

"_My enhancement program. Once I have amassed enough power I will retake control of it and gain the respect and recognition that is due to me."_ He laughed darkly. "_Not to mention the large sum of money that was promised to me."_

I got the impression of a man moving through a shadowed room where a small alter was draped in black with candles burning in a pentagram shape. The alter was positioned in the center of the shape. Laid out, with no visible signs of abuse, was a woman. Renee? She appeared to be asleep.

I watched raptly unsure whether he realized I'd delved so far into his mind that I was witnessing this macabre scene and fearing that he would kick me out at any moment. I needed as many details as possible, but the room in his mind was too dark.

The scene shimmered, then disappeared completely leaving me looking at Yasmin before her brutal attack and torture. Her thick braid brushing the ground as she walked into the circle she'd just drawn on her floor, paint decorating her naked body. Not the same room this man was currently in, of that I was sure.

"_Lovely, isn't she? Before I met you, I would've said she was the most exquisite woman to grace this world, but now I know better, Mistress of Darkness."_

He knew Yasmin. Hell, he'd met me and I had no recollection. His voice was familiar, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn't put a face to it, and yet it seemed so obvious.

Felix filled my mind because the man was now focusing on him and his revenge. _"You gave me the power to bring about this foul thing's death, did you know? With my newly acquired power over fire, I now have the means to destroy him. Have I thanked you? My, where are my manners?"_

The connection weakened and my room came into view momentarily as he released me from his hold. I was still on the floor, one hand clutching my cell phone that only a few minutes ago I'd used to call Christian. What had I gotten him in to?

Edward was kneeling in front of me, his lips moving, but the man was filling my mind with warning. "_Bella, if your friends get too close to me, you will leave me little choice but to burn them alive. Do not force me to take everything from you. It's a small price to pay – I get you mom and dad, and you get to keep your coven intact…except for Felix."_

Jasper and Alice must be close for him to issue that warning, but I had little doubt that he would hesitate to destroy them, just as he promised, if they continued their hunt for him.

"_Your human family or your vampire family, Bella? Choose wrong and you'll lose everything."_ He broke the connection so forcefully that I lost my bearings briefly before my eyes finally registered Edward's panicked form hovering over me while my head rested on his thighs. I forced a smile, anything to erase that look on his face, so full of concern, not because he'd been privy to my internal conversation, but because I'd slipped back into that comatose state again.

Yasmin jumped to her feet looking ill, one hand clutching her stomach, the back of the other pressed against her mouth as she fought for control. "It's Devon." She stared down at me with horror in her eyes. "My Devon has done this to you." She grabbed the trash can near the antique writing desk and threw up. Felix raced out of the room and came back with a wet wash cloth which he smoothed over her face and neck so tenderly.

"Can you sit up?" Edward asked me in a hushed whisper. I nodded and let him help me. I used my power over memories to share the whole conversation with him.

"What am I going to do, Edward?"

"You aren't going to do anything. I'll call Alice and let her know she's close."

I couldn't risk Alice. Not even to save my mother. "No."

Edward froze in mid motion, his phone flipped open, but he hadn't scrolled down to her number yet. "Don't be ridiculous, Bella."

It wasn't just Alice. Leah, Demetri, and Jasper were with her. "I'm not trading their lives for my mother's, Edward, I'm just not. Especially when there's no guarantee that she's even alive. Don't you understand? He doesn't need to be near them, he could use Ben's powers from a distance."

The argument went on for what seemed like hours. Edward thought I was suffering from a nervous breakdown and shouldn't be allowed any vote in the matter. Yeah, that went over real well.

"Dammit, Bella," he swore as he roughly raked his hand through his hair sending it in a million directions. "As long as Devon's alive, you're not safe. He'll be able to hurt you no matter where you are now that he's established such a strong mental connection to you." He met Carlisle's gaze. The room was packed with vampires again, but they'd all had the good sense to keep their thoughts to themselves. Well, not from Edward, but I had no clue what they thought was the right course of action. "Call Alice. Tell her to continue tracking him and to take him out the first chance they get."

"No!" I jumped to my feet.

Edward continued to ignore me like he always did when he felt he was right and continued issuing orders to the rest of the family. "Notify Sam about the threat to Charlie."

"Don't bother," I muttered. "I already did."

He looked at me questioningly.

I sighed and looked around the room. "Give us a minute, please." I waited until the last vamp exited the room before explaining how I'd already made arrangements for Charlie's protection.

"You might want to sit down," I began softly as I glided across the room to the chase lounge and plopped down on it. Edward sat on the bed. I didn't need Jasper's powers to tell me he was furious with me already. Unfortunately, he was about to become even more furious with me and, at that moment, I didn't even care. I was tired of his constant need for control and his sanctimonious attitude.

"I had to run something by Sam," I started, looking everywhere but my husband.

"Go on," he prompted.

"I informed him that a vampire would be keeping tabs on my dad." Hey, it was the truth.

He shot me a look that I couldn't decipher and began pacing the room. "You're being awfully vague, Bella. Any particular reason why you're so hesitant to tell me this vampire's name?"

Yep. Plenty of reasons. Some entirely selfish, but mostly I didn't want to cause Edward more pain. No matter how mad I was, he deserved better than that. "Don't make me say it, Edward. You know who I called."

His sharp intake of breath attracted my eyes and I watched as his hand convulsed around the slender bed post. "Christian. You called your lover; how sweet."

"Charlie needs-"

"Don't even," he bit out. "You've just been waiting for the perfect excuse to talk to _him_ again."

"My father's impending death is not an excuse, Edward."

"I'm so fucking sick of this Bella. You want him so fucking much then get in the car and go to Forks."

"Quit being so melodramatic," I chastised.

The post snapped and he flung the wood across the room where it crashed into the mirror I'd been tied up to earlier, the many shards tinkling like wind chimes as they fell against the dresser. He jerked my luggage out of the closet as Yasmin and Felix rushed into the room to investigate the cause of the noise.

When Edward emerged from the closet he tossed the suitcase at my feet, a letter crushed in his palm. Everything in me stilled. Christian's letter. He'd read it. I swallowed hard trying to find my voice. As I hadn't read it, I was clueless to the contents, but knowing Christian, it would say many things to incite Edward.

"What's going on here?" Felix finally asked, his eyes fixed on the crumpled paper in Edward's hand. He knew, of course. He'd been the one to deliver it to me, and Christian's scent still clung to it.

Yasmin joined me, her eyes locked on the shattered mirror.

Edward ignored both of them and threw the letter right in my face. "Pack your bags, Bella." My hands shook as I smoothed out the letter, not sure I wanted to actually read it or if I even should.

"Edward, man, you need to calm down."

"Come on Bella, let's get out of here," Yasmin spoke gently against my ear, her eyes skimming over the letter that I stared at, but did not see.

"You two stay the fuck out of this." He crossed to the dresser and began packing all of my things into the suitcase.

"Edward, stop. Please," I said in a shaky voice. I stood, my whole body trembling. His anger was so…I was going to lose him. Already had. I rested my hand on his, trying to stop him from placing any more items in the bag. He flung my hand from him causing me to stumble.

"You're right. My family should not be sacrificed for yours."

"Jesus Christ, Edward," Yasmin breathed as she wrapped her arms around me trying to move me out of his path, but my feet were stuck as though I was trapped in quicksand. Nothing he could say or do would ever make me say such a thing to him, and yet there he stood, telling me that Renee and I were on our own, that he'd washed his hands of us. All because I made a phone call.

"I hope you like fucking women," he hissed. "Because what's Christian's is Alyria's."

"Stop," I whispered, my voice not working as I choked on all his hurtful words. Yasmin finally managed to move me a few steps away from him and he growled at Yasmin. He pushed her away from me violently, her frail body slamming into the corner of the dresser, which naturally lead to all hell breaking loose between Felix and Edward.

For the first time ever, I watched Edward fight and rooted for someone else - Felix, whose fist made a thunderous sound as it connected with Edward's jaw. He barely moved even though the impact of that punch would've killed a mortal.

I helped Yasmin from the floor, my arms wrapped protectively around her. Would I hurt Edward to save Yasmin? Yes, if it came to that, I would fight my beloved.

They were all snarls and fists as they tore a path through our room, furniture turning into small splinters as each took turns crashing into them.

I knew they'd only been fighting for less than a minute, but the damage made it look like a horde of people over a weeks times had plowed through here. Carlisle, Emmett, and Justin rushed into the room and without an ounce of hesitation threw themselves into the fray, successfully separating the two vampires.

Emmett locked his beefy arms around Edward. "Whoa, boy. You need to chill."

Justin pushed Felix back, but didn't have to restrain him. Felix's eyes roamed over Yasmin from head to toe as he ascertained that she was whole and unharmed, then he looked me over before turning his attention back to my seething husband who was cursing and roaring as he struggled against Emmett's powerful grip.

"Enough, Edward. Get control of yourself," Carlisle ordered.

Without looking back at Edward, I ushered Yasmin out of the room. A part of me still loved him, but a bigger part hated him.

**A/N: Finals are done; I am officially on summer break. I should have this fic wrapped up soon. Let me know what you think.**


	25. Chapter 25 Nothing Left But Me

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**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. School's no longer a valid excuse as I'm done for the summer, but I got sucked in to the Harry Potter movies Again (just can't get enough of them!) and yesterday was devoted to Underworld Rise of the Lycans (freaking awesome movie btw) and catching up on peeps' fan fics that I've been neglecting while studying for finals. I actually wrote about 4 pages of this, but had to toss them all out. Utterly useless and a complete waste of time. Hope you like it. Countdown has begun. Just a handful of chapters left. Thanks for reading, commenting, and the adds.**

**Chapter 25 Nothing Left But Me**

I needed some time to sort out everything. Edward, Renee, Devon…all of it. Besides, the house felt like a cage closing in on me now that everyone knew my dirty little secret. I couldn't stand their disappointed looks anymore, so I went out back to the gazebo that was perched on a small island in our back yard. Did I mention this place was gaudy? You know you have too much money when you go out of your way to create a lake with an island in the center. There was a dock that led out to it, but I didn't bother using it, I just leapt over it and landed agilely on the balls of my feet.

The letter Christian sent me was still bunched up in my hand, but I had no intention of reading it. Whatever it said was unimportant. It changed nothing. Why I'd held onto it for so long was a mystery, and one that could end up costing me everything.

But it was good that everything was in the open. Now we all just had to figure out if our family was worth salvaging. To me it was, but the decision was no longer in my hands.

I ripped a small piece of the paper and dropped it into the lake before adding another. Felix was calling Christian for me to explain what had happened with me and Devon and what to expect when he arrived, which wouldn't be long.

The last shred of paper hit the water when my phone vibrated against my hip. Aro.

I flicked it open relieved to hear a friendly voice.

"Hey, Aro. What's up?"

His musical laughter filled my phone. "Ah, my dear, it is refreshing to hear your voice."

He had no idea. My heart warmed at the mere thought of him. Aro knew all of my faults and loved me in spite of them. If there was anyone I could vent to, it was Aro - someone who was always in my corner and had good advice to share. I needed an impartial voice of reason. One who didn't care about my relationship with Edward and Christian. In some ways, he'd become a father figure to me who had a knack for making me feel better about my life.

"Likewise. Dare I ask why you're calling?"

"Felix rang me but moments ago and thought maybe you could use a friendly ear. Are things not going well?"

I scoffed. "Not well? That's an understatement." Would Aro still feel the same about me once he learned what happened to my powers? Only one way to find out, but I hoped with every fiber of my being that he didn't let me down.

"Is your moody Edward being troublesome again?" I could hear the amusement in his tone and I shook my head. Moody. That was one way to describe Edward.

I took a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare myself for Aro's reaction. What if it was all about my power? Could I handle the rejection? "I don't know how much Felix has told you, but…" My voice cracked and I felt on the verge of tears. "I no longer have the ability to collect powers," I admitted, readying myself for his response. "All the powers I've collected…they're gone and I've never needed them more," I blubbered thinking of how my powers had allowed Devon to abduct my mother, to threaten my friends, to harm countless other nameless victims in Devon's quest to retake his enhancement project.

"Bella, shh, shh. Slow down and tell me everything, dear," He spoke so gently that it cracked the dam that walled up my emotions and I spilled everything in a rush of words.

"Aro, what do I do? Tell me what to do, please. I've made such a mess of things."

"I doubt it will be necessary to do anything about Edward. You simply need to let him…what is the phrase?" He paused as he tried to find the right words, then continued, "…cool off. Once he has thought it over, he will realize that he acted rashly, like a spoiled child, instead of a century old vampire."

So much for an impartial voice of reason, but he wasn't wrong. The fit Edward had thrown about my protection measures for Charlie was reminiscent of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"And Renee? Did I make the right decision when I told Alice to back off?" I closed my eyes as I imagined my mother's fear and pain, and guilt consumed me. What kind of person lets their own mother die?

The phone had been silent while Aro mulled it over, then he said, "You made a wise decision. Truthfully, I would not have believed that a being of such a young age could make such a difficult choice, but truly, Isabella, it was the right decision. Your mother is already gone. Do not waste the lives of three vampires to assuage your guilt. In the end, you would loose all of them, not just your mother, Isabella. All of them."

Movement at the edge of the lake caught my eye and I froze at the sight of Edward. I didn't need to hear his thoughts, feel his emotions, to know what he was about to tell me. The haunted look reflected in his eyes was enough, and besides, I could feel it in my heart – Renee was dead.

I dropped the phone as he launched himself over the water landing softly in front of me with only the barest of sounds.

Aro was calling to me through the phone while I stared helplessly at my husband. The anger from earlier was gone for the moment, but I didn't delude myself into believing it wouldn't resurface as soon as it was convenient to do so.

"They found her?" I whispered. "My mom?"

He swallowed hard and nodded, but made no motion to physically comfort me like he normally would have.

I could barely get the words out from the grief filling me. "Dead?"

"Alice called." He shoved his hands in his pockets and I wondered if it was to keep from comforting me. It was his natural inclination; perhaps it was the only way to not let my mother's death cloud his mind. Maybe he'd been serious, after all, when he'd told me to pack my bags.

His voice broke through my musings. "They would never have gotten to her in time, Bella. I thought you should know that. Your decision to protect Alice didn't affect anything. By Demetri's best guess, she's been…dead almost since he broke the connection with you."

My mouth opened and closed several times in an attempt to speak, but nothing came out. My eyes burned to cry, to give me a way to release the tidal wave of pressure that was churning inside of me. How could she be gone? What was wrong with this world that a being as kind and loving as Renee, could be destroyed in such a way. I used to think of Edward as my guardian angel, but I knew better now. There were no angels. All those years Edward spent brooding over the loss of his soul were wasted on the fact that it was irrelevant. There was no heaven, no hell, just this wretched planet whose inhabitants were hell bent on destroying everything good in it.

I pulled myself together long enough to address Edward. "Thank you for informing me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish up my conversation with Aro." My voice and words sounded odd to my own ears. I just needed him, and his cold eyes, to leave me alone. I hated the shell of the man standing in front of me, so blinded by his rage and jealousy, that he couldn't even offer a comforting touch.

"Aro? I assumed it was Christian."

I ignored his remark and resumed my conversation, explaining to him about my mother, though I was sure he'd heard most of the conversation.

Edward had quietly walked past me to the opposite end of the dock, but showed no sign of leaving.

"My dear, rest assured that all will be taken care of. You go to Florida and see to your mother's funeral arrangements and I will personally go to Forks to see that your father is adequately protected. I swear to you, Bella, the Volturi will keep him safe."

"You would do that for me?" I asked in disbelief. I wasn't his all powerful warrior anymore, and that he would risk himself, and a host of his guards, was unexpected.

"Certainly, I would. And what's more, you are off the assignment. Forget about this Dr. Anderson and his program. You take all the time you need. We will handle everything."

It took a minute for that to sink in, but I was finally free. Free to mourn my mother, free to go wherever I wanted for as long as I wanted.

"I must go and see to our flight arrangements."

"Wait," I murmured. "The wolves protect Charlie. You have to promise me that you won't harm them."

"I would never be so foolish, Isabella. You have my word. Now go. Take care of yourself and rest assured that your father will be safe and this monster will be destroyed. I swear it. I will rip him apart piece by piece for the pain he has caused you."

I flipped the phone closed, hopeful that Aro wouldn't let me down. I rubbed my forehead in a very human gesture. It wasn't like I had a headache from all the stress, but it soothed me nonetheless.

"Aro is going to Washington?" Edward asked from the other end of the dock.

I floated to my feet, making a mental list of things that needed to be done for the funeral. Not the least of which was breaking the news to Charlie. "Uh, yeah," I replied distractedly as I moved past him. He fell into step with me as I made my way back to the house to pack my bags.

"Can we talk?" He asked when I remained silent once we entered the living room.

I frowned a little. I never knew what he wanted. He was hot and cold. One moment so angry that he couldn't even spare a comforting embrace or a kind word, and the next he was…well, whatever he was being right then. "You mean there's more to say? I thought you were pretty clear earlier," I replied monotonously without looking at him or breaking my stride.

The rest of the family was watching, I could feel their eyes on me, but I just wanted to be alone. Edward, however, had other plans. He followed me into the room and closed the door softly.

"Please stop. For one second, just stop and look at me." His hand wrapped around my upper arm and twisted me around. "Please, just hear me out."

"No. Right now I'm packing- scratch that, you've already packed most of my things for me, haven't you? I'm going to make some flight arrangements so I can help Phil deal with my mom's funeral. When you've decided whether you want to be married to me, you know where to find me."

* * *

**Kinly**

Everything was ready for her arrival. How fucking easy it'd been to locate the little bitch. I'd been hoping for a fucking challenge, but I'd enjoy her either way.

Under the cover of darkness, I moved stealthily from shadow to shadow, the scent that spurred me on familiar and unexpected. _Devon_. What fuck was he doing here? I slunk into the brush surrounding the property and moved as silent as a panther taking up position behind and slightly to the left of him.

I could have made all the noise of a stampeding elephant and the fucker wouldn't have noticed, so absorbed in the scene playing out in front of him through the picture window, he was.

Yasmin, in all her dark fucking glory, her head perfectly shaved. It pissed me off to no end that she wore her baldness proudly when it should have been a constant reminder of our time together. She'd been crying, that was plain to see by her swollen eyes, but had found a distraction in the arms of a corpse.

Devon swore under his breath, his fist balled up and power leaking from him, trailing over me like an electrical current. _What the fuck? When did this dip shit power up?_ He'd been fucking worthless, that's why we kicked his ass out of the program. But now, his current state, well, I could see why the military was fucking after him.

Yasmin fell to her knees, her hands going to her throat and I heard her heart flip into overdrive as she gulped at air she couldn't seem to breathe. Her eyes were as big as silver dollars, her skin taking on a bluish hue as she slowly suffocated while the other vampire tried vainly to help her.

The bitch would die, but at my hands and a time of my choosing, not by this inept piece of shit's hands. I glided forward. "Devon, how the fuck's it going?"

He jerked around, losing control of his power and releasing Yasmin from his grip. She would've fallen to the floor had it not been for the speed of the vampire by her side.

"Kinly," he gasped in shock, but not fear. That pissed me off, too. He'd been terrified of me last time we met, and now look at him. _Give the little boy some big powers and he thinks he's tough shit._ _Thinks I'm no longer a fucking threat._

"Rumor has it there's a special ops team after your ass, Devon. What the fuck are you doing pissing around here?"

"Let them come. They don't scare me," he hissed, but his bravado didn't ring true. I was an expert at reading people, and however strong he'd grown, he didn't feel confident that he could take on a whole enhanced team. "Why are they after me?" He finally asked when I didn't fill in the silence. People just loved to blather on when there was a lull in the conversation.

"Too many fucking bodies piling up, too many questions. You're a mother fucking liability, Devon. What the fuck did you think was going to happen? Did you really believe that the U.S. government was going to turn a blind eye to your extracurricular activities?"

"Why the fuck not? They ignore yours." That they do because I had friends in high places, but also because I knew how to cover my tracks.

"Ah, but I'm not careless enough to leave any evidence. You've made a fucking spectacle out of your victims." I stepped right up to him, our faces so close I could feel his hot breath against mine. "Go on your way, friend, and I'll pretend I never fucking saw you."

He drew himself up, his anger making him strong, foolish, and looked back into the lit up room where the bitch was still trying, unsuccessfully, to regulate her breathing.

"That's my fucking wife in there," he said in a slightly raised voice that was likely to attract the vampire's attention. Maybe it would be too distracted by the witch to notice.

"So fucking what? She's just like every other bitch – replaceable. Not worth fucking dying over." He backed away and my hand lashed out locking him in my iron grip. "The military is after you, you need to get your fucking black ass outta here before they catch up to you." He opened his mouth to argue and I cut him off with a jerk, bringing him up close to my face, his feet dangling and inch off the ground. "Look, I'll take real good care of your whore. I owe her one any-fucking-ways."

"You're the one that tortured her."

It wasn't a question, but I wanted to gloat. "Yeah. And she loved every fucking minute of it. Such a fine specimen. I wish I had the fucking time to truly enjoy her."

Anger licked over him just like I knew it would and he lashed out at me with power, but I moved effortlessly out of his way and gave him a mental push. And just like that, he turned and walked away without another glance in his beloved's direction.

Unfortunately, Yasmin was back to her old self, and it didn't escape her attention that power had just been used right outside her window. Like all good predators, I melted into the shadows and raced for the back door. I was just going to walk right in.

I chuckled. It's too bad I wouldn't be able to hang around long enough to watch the realization dawn on their faces that they'd let me walk in to their house and take her right out from under them with smiles on their lips.

The kitchen was dark. Most of the vampires were congregated in the main room along with a human. I inhaled sharply, shocked by what I'd discovered. Kayden was here. We'd been fucking certain that he'd been killed. What a slippery fucking weasel he had turned out to be. Making nice with the vampires to save his ass. Had a newfound respect for the old fucker.

I heard my quarry's voice coming from the second floor and my pace quickened. All the time and effort was finally going to pay off. In a few hours time we would be locked away in my personal compound in West Virginia and all the time in the world to play with her.

As bold as brass, I stepped into the living room, a smile on my face. "Ah, please don't get up on my account." All of them sat back down. What else could they fucking do when I was mentally mind fucking them?

I slowly walked across the room enjoying my control of them. It was more than that, though; I was hoping the witch would come join the fun. And she didn't disappoint. They rounded the corner and all but smacked into me. "Why hello, my pet." My hand reached out at the same time as I commanded them to be still. The vampires all looked relaxed and unaware that something was wrong, but Yasmin, with all her magic, wasn't fooled. She couldn't fight me, but she was alert to the fact that I was mind raping her. I could see the revulsion in her eyes and it made me so fucking hard. She wanted to flinch away from my touch, but couldn't. I let my hand trail all the way down her neck and across one breast before I raced to the top of the stairs. Couldn't get caught up in her when I was so close to my ultimate victim. But at least she knew I could get to her at any time, no matter how many corpses she had guarding her.

I listened to the vampires' conversation for a minute. Poor little lovebirds. Trouble in paradise, it seemed. I just walked in, both of them on the bed, their eyes locked on me. Still I didn't do anything except drink in the sight of her. All this time plotting, waiting, and there she was as perfect as the first time I saw her, not an ounce of fear in her. Not much of anything in her. Her spirit already looked broken. That just wouldn't do.

The male was on his feet in a blur, snarls filling the room in warning. "Ease up, man. She's not worth fighting me over, is she?" I glanced sharply at her and winked. "Kindly hand her over and I'll be on my way. You'll never hear from me again. Pretty good deal if you ask me."

He hesitated for just a breath as though he could actually fight my will, but then he relaxed and strode toward her. How fucking brilliant was it to have him hand her over? What must that be doing to her? Ah, this was but a taste of the games she and I would play. I would enjoy breaking her.

To make things a little more interesting, I didn't mind fuck her. I wanted her to fight, wanted her aware of her lover and her family serving her to me without so much as a plea on her part.

I stood back - the better to watch the scene unfold. She leapt to the other side of the room, both hands flickering, one in his direction, one in mine, and my skin sliced open from shoulder to ribs, my blood splashing thickly on the carpet. Her lover grunted, but continued stalking her, a wound smaller than mine opened across his chest, but remained bloodless.

I ripped off my shirt; my eyes still glued to the fighting duo, and used it to staunch the flow of blood. Hadn't counted on getting wounded, but it sure made things more intense. All the women I'd had, and not one of them had ever managed to draw blood from me. The pain was like an aphrodisiac and I had to force my mind away from groin to keep from taking her right there in front of her lover.

"Be still," I pushed at her with my thoughts and she allowed him to grab her and walk her to me, placing her hand in my waiting one. Her look. Ah, the hurt and betrayed expression in those fucking red eyes. My father would have been fucking proud. I'd done more damage in this one moment than hours of physical torture could produce.

I wasted no time, locking her safely in my arms and exiting through their balcony door. I wasn't sure how long I could keep them under my control, but at some point I would reach the range limit of my powers and they would snap into action. I had to be long gone before that happened. I had a helicopter readied just a few miles away and I raced through the shadows covering the distance in less than a minute, strapped her in, and got us in the air. Just a little fucking longer then we'd have all the privacy my father's compound could afford us.

**Wow, tough chapter to write. Being stuck in Bella's head was heartbreaking. Too bad I'm not a good enough writer to convey what she was truly feeling, but switching over to Kinly's was next to impossible. I had to watch Dollhouse and guzzle a glass of wine before I could get into his mindset. Hope it was ok. Thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think.**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	26. Chapter 26 Forsaken

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**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**Chapter 26 Forsaken**

**Felix POV**

Edward appeared at the top of the stairs looking disheveled and lost as he looked through me, probably only seeing Bella's face over and over. No one had moved, but the murmurs from the rest of the family in the living room were growing louder.

Yasmin swore softly under her breath yet again, "That bastard!"

Descending the steps one slow step at a time, Edward, looking more like a zombie than a vampire, drew up level to me and mumbled, "What have I done?" He closed his eyes and sat heavily on the bottom step Yasmin was perched on.

We'd only been released from Kinly's power for a few minutes, but nobody seemed able to do anything but berate themselves for their roles in Bella's abduction by a very twisted and powerful man.

Yasmin had recovered first and had since moved on to unabashed fury. She'd been muttering something unintelligible for the last minute and only stopped when Edward's arm grazed hers as he collapsed beside her.

What must he be feeling? Because I was consumed with guilt and all I was, was a close friend. I adored Bella, but my feelings for her paled in comparison to Edward's. However disgusted I felt, it was worlds apart from what he must be feeling right now, though, by the looks of him, he'd checked out of reality. Sitting there on that last step, he never looked more like the corpse he was. There wasn't a hint of life left in him.

Alice darted around the corner in a flash of inky, pointy hair and wrapped her arms around Edward.

I didn't know what to say as the women tried to comfort Edward. How could we have all been so useless? In all of my many centuries, I'd never screwed up this badly. I could not even imagine the self loathing Edward must be feeling. They had, after all, been arguing prior to the attack and that was bound to weigh heavily on his mind. If there was anything that Edward did well, it was wallowing in guilt, and from the looks of his defeated face, he was most certainly heaping the blame onto himself.

Carlisle and Justin caught my eye and I left the ladies to deal with Edward as there was nothing I could do to ease his pain. I needed to do something…something useful and that wouldn't happen if I hung out with Edward, so I followed Carlisle into the next room hoping he had a plan.

"Contact Aro and apprise him of this newest development, Felix," Carlisle said taking control of the situation. He was good at that. I knew at times Bella resented it, but Carlisle was a good leader, one whom I could easily see myself following. Not that I'd been considering leaving Volterra, that would be next to impossible, but it would be hard leaving this coven for the darker, more uptight court of Volterra.

I made the call while Carlisle talked to the rest of the men along with Rosalie. If the little pixie looked frightening, it was nothing compared to the alarming sight of the golden haired vampire. This Kinly did not know what he was in for, that was for certain, otherwise he would never have dared lay a finger on Bella.

Yasmin strode through the front door with a large duffel bag clutched in one hand.

When the hell had she left? I knew I was really distracted if her departure from the house went unnoticed by me. Aro had kept me on the phone for quite a while with his long tirade about our incompetence and that there would be hell to be paid if we did not get Bella back.

Without so much as a glance at any of us, Yasmin emptied her bag. Using a small piece of chalk, she drew a circle and many symbols that meant absolutely nothing to me, lit four black candles and one red one before taking a small wooden mask and placing it in the center.

I couldn't keep my questions to myself any longer, and blurted out, "Care to tell us who you're cursing?" There was no way she had anything personal of Kinly's, was there?

Her hand faltered and her dual colored eyes met mine, sheer hate blazing in them. "Devon."

Rose bound to her feet, her face beautifully twisted in rage. "Your worthless husband is irrelevant. What we need to be focusing on is Bella." She continued to mutter a few choice words under breath while Esme tried to calm her. Edward looked on like he wasn't seeing anything. They had led him in here while I was on the phone with Aro. If anything, he was even more despondent now, than he was twenty minutes ago.

"You're right," Yasmin conceded, but continued with her preparations. "You're the ones with superior senses. Track them, my quarrel is with Devon. Perhaps you failed to notice, but he could have easily destroyed every last one of you tonight."

"If he could have," Rosalie roared, "Then he would have."

"No, I think Kinly interfered. Devon has Ben's power. You do realize that if he'd had the chance you would have all perished in fire and flame, right? And he's quite possibly on his way to Bella's father's house where all that stands in his way are more vampires that will be easily disposed of and a handful of wolves."

Her hands were trembling visibly as her anger at Devon and her frustrations with Rosalie boiled within her.

Rosalie opened her mouth to retort, but I intervened. "Demetri, find both trails. Yasmin and I will go after Devon. The rest of you…" I trailed off as my imagination got the better of me. I'd seen first hand Kinly's handiwork and the thought of what he was doing even right that very minute while we stood by wasting time, was almost enough to crush me and leave me looking as dejected and broken as Edward currently was.

Demetri nodded and raced out the door and Yasmin began her low melodic chant. She clipped off her long nails and added them into the fire, her words becoming more forceful. Herbs were sprinkled next and then lastly she added the small wooden mask.

You could feel the power building, the whole room sort of contracted to accommodate it, and breathing was becoming next to impossible.

She had everyone's full attention now, as her eyes took on that eerie glow and her voice began to thunder through the house with magic. It didn't sound anything like her.

As quick as it began, it ended and Yasmin sat back on her feet, her breathing labored, a sheen of sweat dotting her forehead.

I waited while she pulled herself together before questioning her. No one else broke the silence either. Too shocked by her display of power, I think. "Are you alright?"

"Since he used Ben's power against me when he tried to suffocate me, I was able to bind myself to him by way of the nails and his wooden mask."

My brows rose in confusion and she sighed before explaining. "I've now rendered that one power useless. Now maybe if I had something more personal, like his hair, I could find a way to remove all of his stolen powers, but he's no fool; he won't leave anything like that lying around. Or…" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "If he uses any of them against me, I can keep extracting them individually. I won't have to start the ritual over; the incantation will suffice."

Demetri came back in. "Devon is still in the area." He looked down, slightly embarrassed before continuing. "I didn't pursue him because-"

I interjected, "You feared his power, but Yasmin has stolen his most destructive magic."

"Good to know. Kinly went a couple of miles south and then his trail abruptly ends. It was a grassy field and I could tell from the indentation pattern in the grass that he had a helicopter waiting." He met everyone's gaze before lingering on Edward. "She could be anywhere by now."

* * *

Yasmin and I left the Cullens to their planning session and began tracking Devon. His scent was strong. It seemed like he'd been retracing his steps.

I glanced at Yasmin who had a pattern of dark powder smeared on every inch of her flesh, or at least that what she said. It's not like I watched, though how she managed to decorate her back was a mystery. "Why would he linger?" Surely he knew we would come after him. It made no sense for Devon to remain close by.

She stopped and shot me a look, still as pissed now as she was after his failed attempt to murder her. "I know it may not seem like it, but he loves me. He remains, because he cannot help himself." Her mocha hand lightly touched my chest. "He remains because he seeks your death."

I covered her hand with mine reveling in the feel of her skin and the overwhelming sensations it evoked within me. "It was not me he tried to murder earlier, Yasmin."

"True, but I believe that was a knee jerk reaction to me kissing you. It was extreme, but many other men have fallen prey to jealous rages. Edward cannot even bear to hear the name of Bella's lover without going ballistic. Do you really think it's any different for my husband? A man I've been married to since I was sixteen?"

I nodded and got us moving in the right direction at a much faster pace. Her words reverberated in my mind, along with that kiss. It was both heaven and hell kissing her. I knew now that I was as under her spell as Edward was of Bella; she just didn't seem as enthralled by me.

The beating of another heart joined the music of Yasmin's which was pumping hard in an effort to keep up with my fast trot. I was trying to do a quick inventory of all the powers he'd stolen from Bella, though, those were by no means his only powers. That was why there'd been so many murders. He'd had months to collect all sorts of powers, but Bella's were the cream of the crop, so to speak.

I was about to warn Yasmin about Seline and Blain's powers, when I realized she'd taken off while I'd been lost in my thoughts.

"Damn all women to hell!" I bolted after her, but she'd already stumbled on Devon, baiting him, trying to force him to use his powers so she could undo them.

His hand connected with her high cheek bones; a loud crack piercing my ears and inciting my fury like little else could. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was a man hitting a woman. Exceptions could always be made, like Seline, for instance.

The growl that cut through the night before I flung myself at him, alerted Devon to his immense danger a second too soon and I found myself kneeling in front of Yasmin's battered body, no pulse to reassure me, no breath to whisper to me.

* * *

**Lee**

My men fell into position soundlessly surrounding the fighting trio.

Because of the experiments, we could all speak telepathically. It was mandatory. What point would it be to have special ops teams that still had to use a noisy radio to talk?

Still, it was a little unnerving to hear someone's words in your head.

"Should we take 'em?"

"Negative. We're not here to start a war with the vampires. They're already pissed off enough with us, lets not give them any other reason to terminate us," I replied to each and every person in my unit.

Tish's feminine voice broke my concentration. I shouldn't have brought her; I knew she'd be a huge distraction for me, but after finding her beaten and raped…how could I leave her behind? "Maybe we should help them? They'll-"

"What? Forget that we captured their friends and put them through hell in order to enhance ourselves?" My voice lashed out more forcefully than I meant, especially since I was dealing with Tish, but fear made people do stupid things, and, here, where there was a large coven of vampires with every reason in the world to slaughter us, I was more than scared. I'd never fucking admit it to my team, but to myself, yeah, I was fucking terrified that our search for Kinly had led us here. Too fucking bad we'd missed him.

Using a calmer voice I continued, "And don't forget that they protect Yasmin. Do you really think they're gonna overlook the shit we put her though? We might not have personally tortured any of them, but we sure as hell stood by and let it happen."

The man to my left, Sergeant Richard Fields, shot me a hard look. He was as anxious to get his ass out of here as I was, but something made me hold my ground.

"Kinly's not here, boss." I hated when they called me that, especially when it was someone of the same title as me, but I ran this unit and titles were meaningless. He whispered the rest out loud. Not like there was any chance of being overheard by those fighting savagely in front of us. "Let's get our fucking asses outta here." He looked nervously back in the direction of the house. "I'm picking up at least seven more vamps and two humans from the house. We're fucking out numbered and from what you told us, boss, we don't want to fuck with the woman that led the rescue mission that left the laboratory in ruins."

Yasmin and the vampire fighting at her side screamed, both falling in a heap on the mossy floor of the woods for no apparent reason, while Devon pushed up from the ground where the vampire had been wrestling with him for the last few minutes.

"What the fuck?" Rocky swore in a hiss. Yeah, he was part of the fucking team. I needed him where I could keep an eye on him after his attack against Tish. He'd told me all about Kinly forcing his will upon him. Not sure I fucking believed that.

Devon looked about to finish them both off. I tensed. My body seemed to have a mind of its own and wanted to intercede on Yasmin's behalf. If I intervened, my entire team's presence would be known and eventually the vampires back at the house would come to investigate, but I couldn't in good conscience watch Devon kill Yasmin.

"Rocky, come with me. The rest of you head back to the safe house. We'll meet you there in an hour. If not, begin tracking Kinly. That son of a bitch must be stopped at all costs," I ordered.

I started to move when Tish's steely hand gripped mine. When I glanced back at her, I was met with a look of defiance. I knew she didn't feel comfortable around the other men, but at least I had the man who raped her with me. Honestly, a part of me hopped Rocky didn't make it out of here alive. In fact, I might just take matters into my own hands as soon as the shit cleared and I didn't need him.

"I gave you an order Private Masterson," I said coolly, feeling anything but. Staring into those pleading blue eyes so full of fear of her teammates, it was almost the death of me, but I shoved my personal feelings for this woman aside, and reiterated my order. Her hand left mine and she disappeared from my sight like a ghost leaving me staring at nothing at all. I let out a sigh, relieved that she was no longer near me. Because of my growing feelings for her, she'd become a huge liability.

I turned my attention back to Devon who had a look of rapture on his dark face as he stared at the two writhing figures on the ground. He caressed Yasmin's cheek and whispered hoarsely, "For so long I have craved your powers, but wasn't strong enough to take you on, but tonight, my lovely, I will have them all." He fell to his knees. "I'm afraid you won't live through it, but it's no less than you deserve. How could you…with a goddamn corpse?" He let go of her and regarded the vampire briefly.

"Well, let's get this over with." He smiled. "Since my lovely wife has stolen my preferred form of vampire disposal from me, let us try another.

I didn't know what he was about to do, but I had the sudden urge to stop his hand that slowly reaching for the vampire that was so grief-stricken. I moved forward making as much noise as possible, anything to make him pause long enough for one of us to get over to them.

Devon glanced up quickly and gave a furtive look around

In Rocky's mind, I gave the order for him to make his way quickly to the other side of the clearing to box him in.

Devon seemed to sense that he'd taken too long and that his time was up. "We'll settle up later." He ran for the thick foliage. Rocky hadn't closed him since he was moving slowly in his effort to not alert Devon to his presence.

"After him," I ordered as I crossed the woods to examine Yasmin, who looked like she was about to die of fright, and the vampire who was wailing loudly. Why wasn't the coven coming to their aid? There's no way that they couldn't hear this.

My hand smoothed over Yasmin's arm and I read her tangled thoughts. Her mind was lost in a dark abyss. She was locked in an alternate reality. One touch to the vamp showed me that he was too, except he was clinging to her dead body in his magically induced reality.

Arms of iron grabbed me and threw me into a tree that split in two. I spat out a mouthful of blood as I lurched to my feet and took in the pissed off vampires that were surrounding their fallen members.


	27. Chapter 27 Uncomfortably Numb

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* * *

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Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!

**Chapter 27 Uncomfortably Numb**

**Demetri**

Finally, a plan. Everyone was scrambling to pack while the soldiers located Kinly. Very fortunate that Carlisle was a patient being, otherwise Sergeant Lee would most likely be dead. As it was, Felix and Yasmin were back with us and in perfect condition now that Devon had traveled too far to continue using Blain's power over reality. Though, both of them looked haunted by their nightmares. Felix, particularly. He'd told me what he saw. It was something he wasn't likely to forget even after a thousand years.

Lee and the woman came in whispering softly, though we could hear every word. He was trying to sooth her. Something to do with one of her teammates. Judging from the bruises that were healing on every exposed piece of flesh, I'd hazard a guess that one of the men got a little out of hand with her. The thought sickened me, but I tramped it down. We had work to do and I wasn't about to get mixed up in their affairs. All I wanted was Bella home safe. If I had to work along side an abusive man, then so be it.

Now we had an alliance with the enhanced soldiers since we shared the same foe. Our chances of locating Kinly quickly, had risen considerably with the soldiers' help.

Leah's hands kneaded my tense neck muscles while Sergeant Lee updated us on Kinly's rather colorful file. The Cullens grew paler and paler by the second as Lee continued his briefing and I could understand why. This man was truly demented. He'd been twisted into a monster long ago as a child, and our Bella was now at his mercy. Even if we managed to save her, what condition would she be in?

"Fuck me!" Rocky said when he heard how some officials were using him as a hit man. Not even military related, but for personal reasons.

Tish sneered looking disgusted. "What the hell's wrong with our government? No one in their right mind would place Kinly in a position of power." She shuddered, shooting a strained look at Lee who seemed troubled. Not by the information he was sharing, but by something related to the woman soldier.

Dropping his gaze from Tish, he continued, "Whoever his friends are, they used him to cover up their extracurricular activities. They knew what he was and unleashed him on our citizens to hide their tracks."

Kayden bound into the room, his face flushed with excitement. "I've found him." He tossed a few papers on the table that had paragraph after paragraph blacked out. "See what I've been dealing with?" He muttered as he sat down beside the female soldier who immediately tensed, her pulse racing, as she tried to move as far away from Kayden as the small loveseat would allow.

"But there's always an unaltered file somewhere." He grinned, though it quickly faded as no one else seemed to share his enthusiasm. Kayden cleared his throat before explaining. "Kinly's father had an old underground bunker back in West Virginia. It's where he conducted many unsanctioned torture sessions. And when I say unsanctioned, I mean with the full approval of some very high up government officials, but they couldn't condone such behavior, so it was all very hush hush. He was developing methods of torture that wouldn't result in death or leave much in the way of physical evidence."

Emmett cracked his fingers looking menacing and Kayden gulped loudly and rushed to tell us the exact location.

Alice gasped and all eyes were suddenly concentrated on her vacant expression, Jasper by her side his hand moving soothingly over her arm. "What do you see?"

She turned her head slowly towards Carlisle. "Aro…here."

Felix and I stared at each other as that horror of that information sunk in.

"Who's Aro and why's it bad he's on his way?" Rocky asked looking back and forth between all of us.

"How long before he arrives?"

"He's on his way, Carlisle. A few hours at best."

Well that certainly put a damper on our new alliance with the human soldiers. Aro would insist that they were terminated because of their knowledge about our kind. Not even Bella could save them from that fate, and that was saying something. She seemed to wield some kind of power over Aro turning him into a harmless teddy bear when really he was a ferocious killer.

"Sergeant Lee." When I had his attention I said, "It is imperative that you and your me…_unit_ leave immediately. We have the location of Kinly's hideout and we will deal with him, but you cannot be here when Aro and his guards arrive or they will slaughter you all."

Rocky scoffed. "They'll fucking try."

"That'll be enough out of you, Private St. John," Lee reprimanded tersely.

Felix was at my side, his brows furrowed and I didn't need him to voice his concerns to know what he was about to say.

"Yasmin and Kayden should go with them."

"Negative," Lee interjected. "Kinly is our problem and we'll take care of it."

Jasper finally left Alice's side and strode to the center of the room commanding everyone's attention. So far, Jasper had been glued to Alice as she was taking Bella's absence almost as badly as Edward, so he'd been using his powers on her to keep her calm.

His presence filled the room as he began explaining what the Volturi was and why they needed to be gone by the time he arrived. Something about him was a born leader. He had a way of making you excited about his cause. The mortal soldiers didn't stand a chance against his charismatic ways. But just to be safe, Carlisle added his two cents.

He went so far as to promise them proof of Kinly's death. "I understand that you have one of our vampires' head at your new facility," Carlisle prompted and the whole team of soldiers looked down in embarrassment. Lee nodded. "Well then, we will bring you back Kinly's head in exchange for Mia's."

With that taken care of, and a few last minute suggestions from Lee and Kayden, they were on their way out of the state along with Yasmin. Felix looked like it was killing him to send her away. The argument that had followed his announcement had been very loud and very hard to ignore. I felt for him, I did. I got to keep my mate by my side. Aro was very much aware of her and making an effort to accept her, but to expect him to accept another mortal among us with no certainty that she would be transformed was asking to much of him. Not that I blamed him. All of Bella's hard work to cover up our exposed secret was about to blow up in our face. We had to strike hard and fast and leave no witnesses. That sentiment worked well in theory, but in practice, things got a little muddy. These soldiers were men of honor and had as much to lose as we did. They would never be accepted once the truth came out about their enhancement. As for Yasmin, she could fight all she wanted, but eventually she would realize that she couldn't live without Felix and would beg to be transformed.

"Perhaps you should go with them," I commented lightly after taking in his sulky form. He didn't do it as well as Edward, but he was pretty close.

The relief that washed across his face brought a smile to my lips and behind me Leah was trying to stifle a chuckle.

"You do not think it would be selfish?" He asked.

"You're no good to us like that," I waved in his direction. He was wholly focused on his mate and forcing him to travel with us was pointless. "Go. No one here will fault you. We will have more than enough vampires with the addition of Aro and his guard."

Felix didn't need telling twice. He was out the door so fast he was little more than a dark blur. Even on foot he'd make it to North Carolina before the soldiers did.

I glanced over at the chair that Edward had been placed in hours ago and was surprised to find it empty. A quick look around the house and grounds turned up nothing.

"He left," Alice said wearily. "He's gone after her himself."

Esme gasped. "No. He wouldn't do anything so foolish."

We all gave a humorless laugh at that comment. She really didn't know Edward if she believed that. It was exactly the kind of thing he would do. Personally, I was just glad that he'd pulled himself out of his pit of despair even if the result bordered on suicidal.

* * *

"May as well get a move on," Jasper suggested while cramming a few more items that Alice didn't want to be without into their bag. He caught my eye and added, "Call Aro and tell him to meet us in Clarksburg."

I made the call in the car on the way to the airport. Aro wasn't at all surprised that we knew he was joining us.

"Devon has been taken care of," I murmured as I closed my phone. Leah stirred beside me and I answered her unspoken question. "No one was hurt. Aro and his guards made short work of him."

"Too bad. Seems like the bastard got off easy. If it wasn't for him, Bella would never have been taken by this freak, Kinly."

I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her tightly against me loving the feel of her small, muscular body pressed against mine. "No worries, Leah, Aro made certain that he paid dearly for his transgressions. No one knows pain the way Aro does. He might seem all courtly, but when he has to be, he's quite lethal."

Justin made an indistinguishable noise from the front passenger seat. "Aro…courtly?" He shook his head. "I never fell for that bunch of bullshit." He twisted around in his seat, his eyes glittering menacingly in the moonlight. "Christian killed my father right in front of me on Aro's orders. I've known what that man was capable of from the very beginning."

I hadn't really given it much thought, but it must be killing Justin that his mother was consorting with Aro. Renata said there were even whispers of a wedding. I'd believe it when I saw it.

"Speaking of Christian…" Leah trailed off. "Do you think he's with Aro now?"

"Yeah, that won't cause any problems," Justin muttered, and Esme, who was driving, shook her head sadly. "It's a good thing Edward took off, because if he comes face to face with Christian, I don't think there's anything any of us could do to keep him from killing him."

* * *

**Bella**

Would it never end? My whole body was still zinging from the electrical shocks. I couldn't even turn my head to look around the darkened room because my body hurt so badly and I no longer seemed to have control over it. Even wiggling my fingers was too hard a task.

It'd been days. Two, I thought, but time was running together and I'd blacked out several times. Though, if I'd had my way about it, I'd have stayed unconscious.

"Welcome back," Kinly greeted as his beefy face filled my vision. "I was wondering how long you were going to leave me here to my own devices." His hands slid down my stomach like some slimy serpent and I couldn't even cringe away.

A wide smile stretched his lips. "Would you like me to tell you what I've been doing to pass the time?" His hand was perilously close to touching a part of me that only Edward and Christian had ever had access to, but I knew better than to react in any way. Fear would only make him enjoy it more. I tried to block everything out using my power over memories to relive some better times with Edward, but it wasn't enough because when his hand cupped my mound the feeling of being violated in such a way wrenched me right out of my trip down Memory Lane.

He wiped his hand off and strode purposefully to the other side of the room, connected a few cords to the TV, and moved back to my side. He raised my head up and I saw my unconscious body fill the screen. It was like a train wreck. I knew what was coming, but I couldn't help but watch as he ripped off my clothes and began molesting my body. When he turned it off, he said, "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" But I barely listened to him. My mind was reeling. He'd done a lot of vile things, but he hadn't raped me, thank god. Why he'd stopped short of that, I couldn't say. Maybe he just preferred his victims thrashing in fear while he took them. How crazy was it that I was hoping he'd go back to electrocuting me.

Using the remote, Black Sabbath came on. I'd heard enough of this particular album to last me a lifetime. But I couldn't help but sigh in relief. If this music was playing, it meant a torture session, not rape. Torture I could handle; rape? Not so much.

I was still hooked up to the machine, lots of little round sticky pads places along my body to deliver electrical jolts. Fun fun. I wasn't complaining. I knew he was capable of much worse, that he was only warming up. Eventually, he'd find an activity that bothered me a bit more. Don't get me wrong, it fucking hurt and left me weaker than a newborn baby, but it was still the preferable option.

Besides, someone was bound to come crashing through the door, right? Edward might be mad at me, might even hate me, but he wouldn't just leave me here. _Sure he would. He handed me over like I was a worthless possession. He wasn't coming. Two fucking days had passed. None of them were coming._

I slipped back into my self loathing when the first sting of electricity bit at me causing my body to contract and arch off the table while Kinly murmured in a satisfied tone.

"Scream bitch. Let me hear you beg me to stop." But I didn't and I wouldn't. No matter how agonizing this was, it still hadn't reached the level of pain I'd endured for the transformation.

He upped the jolt and it took everything in me to swallow my screams, my teeth chattering nosily.

He watched me intently while he hummed to the music and when I thought he was going to shut it off, he cranked it up to its highest level. I could smell my flesh burning, hear my guttural cries reverberating in the small closed room, while my body convulsed again and again.

The camera was focused on me again while he did a sick commentary about my flailing body. I was beyond embarrassed, but that tape was the least of my concerns. If I kept this up, I was going to have more scars than Jasper. Then neither Edward nor Christian would want me. It would solve that issue nicely. Laughter bubbled out of me at that thought and Kinly turned off the machine frowning slightly.

"Enjoyed that, did you?" An evil glint was in his eyes as he slowly removed his perfectly pressed sport coat. "Why don't you help me out of this shirt, bitch?"

I found that my body worked just fine after all. Nothing was truly wrong with it; it had just been his will holding me to that table. I sat up a little awkwardly because of the wires still connecting me to the machine and watched in horror as my hands began undoing each of his buttons on his highly starched white shirt.

When his shirt lay at his feet he hovered over me. "What are you afraid of, little vampire?" When I didn't reply he shook me. "Answer me, bitch."


	28. Chapter 28 Taking Over Me

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Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!

**A/N: Ah, I'm half afraid to post this chapter. I had no idea when I set out to write this story (back in January) it would become so dark. The first draft of this chapter was far more graphic, but I just couldn't bring myself to to make those things happen to Bella. So this is an edited, watered down version.**

**Warning: This chapter contains dark and mature content. If you would rather skip this part, you will miss very little story wise, it is Kinly's abuse of Bella (maybe read the last paragraph of this section). It is contained at the end of this post. The whole section marked Kinly – 2.**

**Chapter 28 Taking Over Me**

**Kinly **

"Answer me, bitch!" I shoved her roughly away from me, my chest heaving from fighting to control my anger.

"Losing Edward," she whispered. Of all the fucking dumb things to be scared of. I could, and would, do terrible things to her, and she was worried about losing her unlimited supply of cock.

"Maybe you didn't notice, but you've already lost him." I sat on the edge of the table my gaze settling on her chest. I'd seen bigger fucking tits, but none that fascinated me the way hers did. Everything about her elicited that reaction from me. How lovely they'd look with my insignia emblazoned on them.

Without taking my eyes from her breasts, I continued to bait her, "He was happy to be rid of you, if you ask me. I didn't even have to use my powers on him." An outright lie, but it's not like I fucking owed this bitch anything. "Out of curiosity, what were the two of you fighting about?"

I gave her a mental push to make certain she'd tell me the truth. Who knows how valuable the information might be. The best torture sessions were those catered explicitly to the victims from their own personal information. Bet my fucking father would have given his left nut away to possess my power. He wouldn't use it to force the important information out of them, which would be too fucking easy; he would use it just as I was - to make the abuse all the more humiliating and fun.

"I cheated on him with another vampire and I'd just gotten off the phone with him. Edward was already ticked off about a letter he'd found from Christian and the phone call put him over the edge."

Each word came out slowly, like she was actually trying to fight off my hold over her, but in the end she gave me the complete truth. My mind was already planning how best to use this information. Edward would undoubtedly come to rescue her. It might be a while before he found us, but find us, he would. Maybe even the whore's lover would come. That would fucking liven things up.

I pushed off the table and changed the cd putting Sins of the Father on. How appropriate. I left the room to grab a snack leaving her unbound and naked on the table. I knew it would eat at her that nothing physical kept her there, only my will. Freedom looked so close, yet she didn't stand a fucking chance of escaping.

The blonde woman that I'd bound, gagged, and blindfolded whimpered when the cell door opened. Noises from the other cells filled my ears and the hard on that I'd pushed away instead of using on my vampire bitch was back with a vengeance. It wasn't time to make her suffer this particular humiliation, but there was no reason to abstain from sex with this cunt.

Quickly I looped her bound hands over the hook on the wall, her ass facing me and ripped off her pants.

* * *

After using her, I dragged her back to my work room where the vampire was waiting. All the torture had left her starving, and watching me feed on this woman would be a special kind of hell.

"Sit up" I ordered roughly, wondering if she could smell this woman's scent all over me.

The woman was crying nonstop. If she knew how much of a turn on it was, she'd shut the fuck up, but I wasn't going to share that particular bit of information.

I pushed her inches from the hungry vampire who licked her lips as her eyes turned jet black. My hand slid up her small ribcage and cupped one breast before my head reared back and struck her viciously on her neck. The scent of her blood saturated the room and the vampire in front of us growled, but couldn't move while I guzzled every drop of blood this woman had to offer.

Her body fell to the floor with a thud and I shot her a sly smile. "Would you like a lick?" I brought my mouth in close, my lips still coated in the woman's blood. "Go ahead, bitch. Lick me clean."

She didn't hesitate, her tongue lashed out and lapped at my chin and neck before working its way to my mouth slipping easily inside and catching the last drops of blood from inside my mouth.

I pushed her back laughing loudly. "Alright, time for a different activity." The brand was already heated. If for some reason, this bitch ever got away from me, at least she'd have a visual reminder of her time in my fucking care.

"Lay back, arms at your side."

I grabbed the brand and flourished it in front of her, loving how her eyes widened in fear at the glowing design.

The smell of her singed flesh as I burned my mark into her left tit was overwhelming, but the sound of her screams distracted me from the disgusting smell. The drawback of vampire DNA was that a lot of the techniques used during such a session left the victim reeking of foul stenches and now that smell was magnified by a thousand.

I pulled it away and examined the livid burn. A perfect mark. My mark. On her flesh. Even though I'd fucked the human twat less than twenty minutes ago, staring down at the vampire had me ready to blow my load all over again.

"What do you think your precious Edward will think of this?" I asked as I pinched her nipple roughly. "Do you think it'll turn him on knowing my hands held these breasts?" I licked right across the burn. "That my fucking tongue tasted every inch of you?"

She shook her head, but kept her mouth clamped shut.

"Ah, you're probably fucking right; he doesn't seem to share well with others, does he? If he'd been a real man, he'd have shared you with Christian." I chuckled darkly. "You'd fucking like that, wouldn't you, whore? Both of them inside you at the same time? Tell me, what opening do you think Edward would prefer?" Her scandalized expression had me laughing as I placed the brand back into the fire to heat it up for the other breast. It's all about symmetry. I fucking hated when things weren't perfect.

* * *

**Demetri**

Aro and his guards were already waiting for us. He must have emptied most of Volterra because he had about fifty vampires with him. One of which, was Christian.

I bowed to Aro, who looked ready to murder someone, feeling tense as I exposed myself to him. Surely he wouldn't blame me. I hadn't even been there. I'd been with Alice in Jacksonville.

"Rise, Demetri."

"My lord," I murmured in greeting, but his eyes were roaming over the vampires that had just arrived.

"Where is Edward?" He hissed. Clearly, he was going to blame this whole situation on Edward. Not a bad idea, really.

"We believe he went after Bella on his own," I replied and Christian swore under his breath.

He moved forward. "Give me the location."

I could feel the Cullens shifting nervously behind me. It would be bad if Christian and Edward were to run into each other, but I couldn't help but feel that he deserved his shot. We weren't even certain that Edward had gone after her. Not to mention, I just like this guy a lot more than Edward.

He flung his Volturi cloak off and stood almost a head taller than me when he drew up close looking like a golden avenging angel in all his anger. "Where is she?" He roared and I gave him the location much to the dismay of the vampires behind me.

Aro's hand restrained him. "No my son, patience. We will go together. We will go with the full force of the Volturi and destroy anything that gets in our way," he vowed vehemently.

He bent over and picked up the cloak and placed it around Christian's shoulders. Looked like Aro had chosen sides in Bella's love triangle. "Shall we?" He asked, and without waiting for a reply, he had his guard moving towards Bella's prison.

Esme pushed past me roughly and grabbed Christian's arm. "There is no reason for you to come. The last thing Bella needs is more tension. What purpose would it serve besides your own selfish needs?"

His red eyes glowered down at her. "Selfish? I have been the least selfish of the bunch. I let the woman I love leave me and endure each passing hour knowing that she is with a man that does not deserve her. A man who continues to punish her because his ego is bruised. Have you any idea how hard it has been to stay in Washington when I knew Bella suffered needlessly in her vain attempt to prove her love to a being that seems unable to understand love?"

"Enough! Enough lies. I will not stand here and listen to you defame my son."

Carlisle wrapped his arms around her and tried to move her away, but in her anger she pushed him away and set her steely gaze on Christian. I'd never seen this side of Esme before. To say I was shocked was an understatement.

"If you had any dignity you would leave now. If you knew Bella the way we know Bella, you would know that there's no one for her but Edward. She will never be happy with you."

"Esme," Carlisle cautioned, but she ignored him.

"If you're here because you think that she will see your motives as gallant, you are sorely mistaken."

The smile that decorated his face had nothing to do with warmth or humor. "You, Esme, are the one that is sorely mistaken. And I tire of your childish antics." He ripped her hand from his arm, but she moved around him in a flash and blocked his path, pulling a long sigh from him.

"Do you think we don't see how you've manipulated Bella all along? You and your coven. Alyria has been in it from the beginning. Everyone wants our Bella. Like she's some possession. Well you are not fooling anyone," she sneered. "You think we don't know about how Alyria used her powers against Bella before she found her way to your room? How convenient for you. And you expect us to believe you had nothing to do with that? What, you thought one lustful night with you would be enough to make her leave her husband and join your coven?"

Christian had gone way past angry during her rant, and Carlisle noticing the change in him, took a precautionary step between them. Even Aro had started his way back through the moving guards.

"Esme." He turned her towards him. "This is neither the time nor the place for this discussion. We have more important things to worry about than Bella's love life. And it is _her_ love life, Esme. Her choice. I think the world of Edward, you know I do, but he has been hard on her and made many mistakes these last few month. You are blind where he is concerned."

"How dare you?" She spluttered.

He guided her forward ignoring her low mutterings.

Leah shook her head. "Esme is right on one point – Christian's presence will definitely make things more difficult for Bella."

* * *

**Kinly – 2 Warning: Explicit and disturbing content.**

I stared down at my macabre masterpiece taking in every proof of abuse and a thrill of excitement, like I'd never experienced before, filled me. Every other woman I'd had, had reminded me of my mother. So much so, that by their deaths, I no longer saw the real women that lay broken before me, but the body of my murdered mother. My first victim. And at the same time, all my victims.

But it was different with this one. The first one to take everything I could dish out. Physically, she could withstand years of this punishment, but mentally… I sighed taking in her empty eyes. Mentally, she would probably only last another fucking day.

I felt cheated. Sure, her fucking body would give me pleasure, but it was her spirit that made it worthwhile. Without that, I'd just be going through the motions.

I drummed my fingers against her flat stomach. "What's on the menu today?"

"What day is it?" She asked, her voice void of all expression, just like those black eyes. Perhaps I should feed her. Maybe she'd fucking liven up for me once some human blood was filling her veins. "How long have I been here?" She asked again. She had little concept of time here in this dark room. Not to mention that I kept mind fucking her to confuse her. I was working against time. Sooner or later her coven of corpses would come and I wanted her utterly destroyed beyond repair before that moment.

I smiled. Probably more of a leer to her. "A week." Her eyes closed and I could feel her hope of escape ebbing away. Really she'd only been here for two fucking days, but we'd accomplished a lot in that short time.

"I think we will make a fucking video today. Would you like that, bitch?" I began setting up some lights and the camera. "A small token for your lover I think." I chuckled darkly. "Oh, I meant lovers."

My hand smoothed through her thick, dark hair. "Do you think it would bother them more if you were eager and willing while I fucked you? Or, do you think seeing you screaming and begging for me to stop, will fuck with them more?" I gave another hard mental push.

She debated for a brief moment, before replying, "I'd say both scenarios would have about the same effect."

"Both it is, then."

* * *

"On your fucking knees," I ordered hoarsely and she immediately complied. She would do me and love it.

Her hot breath was on me when I heard a sound that didn't belong in my father's lab. Someone was here. Much sooner than I'd anticipated.

I grabbed her head, holding her still while my heightened senses strained to ascertain how many. By the sounds of it, only one. One fucking vampire to take me down? It was never fucking gonna happen.

"You be a good little whore, and stay right there." I retrieved the cattle prod and my high voltage taser gun and set them on the table behind her. First I would let him catch the live show and when her lover found his slut of a vampire willing doing me I would get off on his powerlessness and his pain.

Once he was emotionally broken, he'd be fucking easy to best physically. Maybe I'd even have this bitch help me with the physical assault. How fucking poetic would it be?

He was close now, so fucking close. I could smell him. And if I could, then so could she.

Her body had gone rigid, her eyes widening slightly. She couldn't move away from me, but his presence here had given her the will to fight me.

The door flew open.

**** Further edited because it was still seen as too intense.**


	29. Chapter 29 Fate Worse than Death

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

****For those first 50 readers of the last post – I edited the last paragraph and BELLA HAS NO LONGER BEEN RAPED****

**Chapter 29 A Fate Worse than Death**

**Bella**

I cringed inside at what this must look like to Edward – me on my knees, my face in Kinly's crotch –and was thankful that I no longer possessed Jasper's power because his pain would have been the death of me.

"Edward," Kinly said genially, his hands still tangled in my hair.

Edward's presence, his familiar smell, had provided me some measure of control. Kinly might be able to keep me kneeling before him, but I was so not opening my mouth. I had that small amount of fight left in me to prevent that one humiliating event from happening because of the hope that Edward's appearance brought me.

But my pleasure at being able to thwart Kinly was short lived, because Edward was no better equipped to withstand Kinly's power than I was. Devon stealing my powers had been both a blessing and a curse. Right this second, I was really missing being a shield. If I'd still been able to shield, Kinly would never have laid a damn finger on me, let alone a whole fucking hand. A few days ago, I was actually pleased that all those extra powers were gone and I could be as normal as a vampire could be.

"Come in. Have a seat. We were just getting started."

Edward moved haltingly across the brightly lit room, around the camera set up on its tripod, and sat in a folding chair facing me. I could tell he was straining against Kinly, but I knew it was pointless. God knows I'd wasted precious energy fighting him to no avail. Better not to piss him off.

Our eyes met and said worlds to each other – none of it good. And just like that, all the hope I'd felt upon his arrival whooshed out of me like the air out of a balloon. Edward coming here on his own helped nothing. All it accomplished was providing Kinly with another plaything, but now I'd probably be forced to have sex with Kinly in front of Edward before Kinly finally ordered me to help him torture my own husband.

Silently, I begged for death.

Kinly moved behind me, his hands cupping my breast, and by the expression etched on Edward's face, I'd hazard a guess that Kinly was only controlling his body; Edward's mind was still his own and very much aware of another man's hands on my breasts. What fun would it be otherwise? Kinly was all about destruction.

The index finger of his right hand traced the outline of the brand on my chest. "What do you think?"

It was obvious that Edward was fighting for control, his muscles were bulging against non existent bonds, but he was as helpless as I was. _God, just let this all be over soon_. I never thought I'd see the day when all I wanted was death – death for me and for Edward.

My fear though, was that Kinly would let us live since death would be the kinder option. There was no kindness in Kinly. Maybe there had been once upon a time as a child, but I'd heard a lot about Kinly during my time with him and knew that his father had tramped down any goodness that once resided in him so that all that was left of him was this warped man locked in the horrors of taking his own mother's life and carrying an all consuming rage for all that he'd suffered at his father's hand, for becoming just like him.

No, Kinly would find a way to keep us alive, otherwise, we wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of his abuse. Alive, we would forever be tormented by the actions of Kinly. These marks on my breasts would always remind both of us of what he'd done to us, how Edward had failed to rescue me. Trust me when I say that one fact would destroy us more surely than any abuse Kinly could conjure. Edward was just like that. He would berate himself until neither one of us could stand him.

So, for all of that, I prayed for death.

Kinly's sweaty body pressed against my naked back while his hands mauled my chest. I tried not to look at Edward, but it was like there was some magnetic pull and my gaze invariably fell on his broken face.

Roughly, my neck was jerked to the side, my ear nearly touching my shoulder, and his foul lips began their sloppy journey down my throat to my collar bone.

"Mmm, I think he's fucking enjoying the show. What do you think, bitch?"

I could feel his mind shoving at mine, demanding an answer and my mouth opened to whisper my reply. He hadn't put his words into my mouth, and for that I was grateful; he certainly could have made me say any damned thing he wanted. "I think he looks pissed."

The hands on my body stilled, thankfully, as he shot a considering look at my very livid, but helpless, husband. What the hell had possessed him to come here alone when he had a bevy of vamps at his side? I knew Edward had a rash streak, but he'd been aware of what Kinly could do; it made no sense to try and rescue me alone. The only person who might have been able to pull it off would've been Christian. Well, Kattra too, as they were both shields.

"You know what, cunt? I believe you're right. He looks fucking bored." He kissed my cheek and whispered, "I'll take care of that," and his hands fell away.

I never thought that his body no longer touching mine would be a bad thing, but the minute he left me kneeling on the floor, I knew that I'd give anything to have him concentrating all that hatred on me. No matter what Kinly did to me, it would be better than watching him hurt Edward.

He scooted the TV in front of Edward. "Since you're so fucking bored with our show, why not watch some TV? See how me and your whore spent our time together before you interrupted." He leaned in close. "I really enjoyed getting to know her." He leered at me over Edward's shoulder, a twinkle in his eyes, and winked at me. "She and I…we're ready for something a little more intense, wouldn't you say so, bitch? You watch this so you're all up to speed on things and she and I will finish where we left off. Who knows, maybe you'll feel like joining in." He clapped him on his shoulder jovially and I watched as the light from the screen flickered in Edward's angry eyes.

I knew what was coming now. Kinly was going to make good on his promise – he was going to rape me right in front of my husband and both of us were powerless to stop it. Even as a human, I'd never felt this helpless, it was not an easy thing to experience. I'd gone from a weak human to an all powerful vampire, to a weak victim of this lunatic.

Kinly scooted a chair across from me. "I thought fucking you might get a rise out of him, but it doesn't fucking seem to be working," he chuckled as a spark of hope flickered inside me. Anything, no matter how awful, was preferable to rape. Don't ask me why, it's just my body. But I couldn't make myself believe that deep within my soul.

His hand flashed out and had my left one in its grasp wrapping his thick fingers around my ring finger and pulled with all his enhanced strength. The pain was instantaneous and excruciating as my finger was ripped away. My vision blurred and I was again close to passing out which would be a godsend, really.

My screams still filled the room. Kinly was using my finger with its reddened tip to caress his chin the way one in deep thought often does. "Just need to test something before we get down to business," he muttered and left the room, my finger now resting on the shiny stainless steel table.

I inhaled Edward's scent deeply into my lungs; rolled the taste of it across my tongue trying to break Kinly's power over me enough to at least talk. After several breaths, I managed a broken, "Ed…ward." But that was all before Kinly returned with another woman. This one was short and plump and her pulse was like a symphony in my ears. She was frightened and her fear called to the predator within me bringing snarls from my mouth. The rumbling growls interrupted the sound of Kinly's commentary playing on the TV.

He forced her in front of me and slit her wrist letting the blood spill across my hand while he held my severed finger in place.

"Please, please help me," she blubbered. Did I look like I could fucking help her? And I wouldn't have anyway. She was in a room full of monsters. The only thing I could promise her was a quick, almost painless, death while I gorged myself on her hot blood.

She continued her blathering which I tried to tune out. My hand being turned this way and that while Kinly examined my now flawless flesh that no longer contained my wedding ring, was distraction enough from the crying woman.

"Fucking perfect."

He wrenched the girl away from me and I screamed soundlessly in rage. I was starving and he was playing on that as he trussed her up still bleeding against the wall with some heavy shackles.

"We're going to need her blood; may as well keep her close by."

He helped me to my feet, stretched me out on the cold table and readied the camera, then sauntered across the room to Edward and watched the screen in silence behind him. "Fucking knockout, isn't she?" He leaned in, his hands resting on Edward's stiff shoulders. "Never felt skin as fucking smooth and hard as hers. Her tits are just the perfect fucking size for my hands." Kinly closed his eyes and shivered in pleasure while Edward growled deep in his chest, the sound vicious and wreaking of warning, but he remained immobile. Kinly laughed at Edward's weak attempt, and focused his attention back on me.

"As soon as your lover over here gets it up, we'll get back to fucking, but until that happy fucking moment, we'll try something new to pass the time." He said this loudly so that Edward would understand he alone had the power to end this form of suffering. Not that the alternative was better, and I was really hoping that Edward understood that. Whatever he dished out I could take as long as it didn't involve fucking Kinly.

By the look on Kinly's face as he once again turned Black Sabbath on, I knew I was about to get up close and personal with unimaginable pain. The finger had been nothing more than an experiment to see if it healed and how quickly. At this rate he could rip me apart and put me back together many times, because Edward was never going to be able to get an erection listening to my screams and watching me be tortured on TV. That might be what got Kinly's rocks off, but it so was not going to work on my husband.

"We'll start small – one finger at a time." He leaned in, his sour breath hot against my face. "If he loves you he'll get it up before the larger pieces of you are torn off." He cleared his throat looking all business-like as his eyes roamed over me. "Ready?" Without waiting for a reply, he yanked off another finger.

* * *

The pain finally receded and my spotty vision cleared slowly. Kinly was nowhere in sight, thank god.

"Bella," Edward's strained voice called out to me from the back of the room. Not near the TV, where he'd been when Kinly started working on me.

Hands held me down firmly. I was losing time, sound kept going in an out like an un-tuned radio. "Relax Bella, everything's going to be alright now. Just let me reattach your…," Carlisle's voice trailed off as he searched for a word to finish off the sentence.

"Ki…Kinly?" I asked, my lips shivering as though I had a chill. But vampires don't get cold.

"Christian and Aro have dealt with him. You're safe, Bella."

Sniffles coming from the back of the room caught my attention, but I couldn't raise my head enough to see who it was.

I didn't know what the hell was going on. One minute Kinly was smoking a cigar while I laid on the table without arms or legs and then Carlisle was here. Or was he? Maybe Kinly was still fucking with me and my mind had finally broken. If that was the case, then broken was good. I was okay with hallucinations of my vampire family coming to my rescue. I laughed at the thought that Aro himself had come here. He was protecting my dad. That alone told me that none of it was real.

And yet, the hands on me felt very real. _"Just Kinly's hands_," I reminded myself.

Carlisle's calm face peered intently at me and I figured I'd just go with it. "Edward…ok?" Rosalie's and Esme's beautiful faces suddenly swam into my vision.

"He's fine, Bella," Esme said while she stroked my cheek. I really loved this woman who was so full of love and warmth. Renee was dead; soon I would be too, but at least I could die with my other mother by my side.

"Oh, my poor darling." She bent her head over mine and kissed every inch of my cheek while she dry-sobbed uncontrollably.

Damn she felt real. I was trying to string events together, not quite daring to believe that they were really here, that I was truly safe, that it was all over.

I forced my mind back to my last conscience moments. Kinly had torn me apart once and had been beginning the process all over again when the darkness finally consumed me. No, that wasn't right. Kinly had been really angry. After the first bout of dismemberment he'd checked on Edward's progress, but nothing brings about erectile dysfunction like the sound of your loved one's flesh being pulled apart.

Edward's punishment for keeping Kinly from fucking me? He'd gotten a taste of the machine I'd been hooked up to, and when that wasn't enough, Kinly began heating up the metal stakes and strategically placing them into his body. He'd left him like that while he put me back together and began the whole damn process again.

"Need blood," I said in a gravelly voice do to all the screaming I'd done.

My eyes closed as I tried to force myself to forget everything that Edward and I had been through. I felt so cold inside, so empty. Justin came forward – I knew it was him just by his enticing scent – and placed a water bottle full of blood into my mouth. Human blood, at that. At this point, they could have fed me anything and I wouldn't have cared; I sucked it down in seconds and Rose handed him another one while Carlisle poured more blood on my wounds as he reattached more parts of me.

Humpty Dumpty kept repeating in my mind. Felt like deja vu, but I couldn't think clearly enough to piece it together. Yep, I think I was well and truly fucked in the head.

Once I was sated and whole, I allowed Carlisle to help me sit up. Jasper was with Edward. He'd been removing the metal staves while Alice poured blood over the deep holes riddling his once perfect body. Fortunately, we healed well, and I knew that he'd be back to his splendor in no time. The same could not be said for me. I glanced at my naked chest, at the brands, and didn't even care that the whole damn family was seeing me nude. All I saw was Kinly's euphoric face as the brand sizzled against my skin, the sound of the music blaring in the background, the feeling of utter hopelessness.

No longer able to bear the sight of my ruined chest, my gaze fell on Edward, but I quickly looked away. How could he ever stand the sight of me again? I would be a constant reminder of everything that had transpired here, of everything he'd suffered because of me.

Alice said something to me, but it never penetrated the thick fog that was protecting me from feeling too much of anything. Like humiliation. I should care that I was naked. There were about a dozen different emotions I should be feeling, but I just wasn't.

Christian and Aro strode purposefully into the room, their eyes trained on me, never once veering towards my husband.

Aro's eyes shone brightly as he tenderly took my face into both of his hands and bestowed a kiss on each cheek. "Oh, my dearest Isabella, you are safe now." His face clouded over like a sudden spring thunderstorm. "Kinly and Devon are dead," he spat, looking every bit the predator I knew he was.

Relief. I should feel relieved, but still I was surrounded by a dark fog, alone and broken.

Aro stepped aside giving Christian room to squeeze in front of me. His scent, so familiar, was not the scent I wanted enveloping me. His arms clutching desperately at me, were not the arms I belonged in, but Edward made no move to interfere. _Why should he? You're damaged goods, babe. Better to let Christian deal with you than spend an eternity being reminded of the abuse he suffered because of you. _It was never good when your own brain was chastising you.

"I was so scared, Bella." He pulled me tightly against his chest and my hands snaked around his trim waist and allowed him to comfort me. "I thought I'd lost you." The fear was still raw in his voice.

"I was never yours to lose," I mumbled against his shirt causing him to stiffen and pull back slightly so he could look at me, his crimson eyes searching mine. I knew what he wanted to see, but I wasn't capable of love. Not for him, maybe not for anyone.

"Go to her," Alice hissed from the back of the room.

Everyone moved out of the way, like the sea parting for Moses, and Edward stumbled toward me, still weak from his time with Kinly. Clearly, he hadn't fed because no Cullen would succumb to their hunger when the only thing available to sate it was human blood. No, they weren't weak like me.

Christian still held me, though loosely, as Edward made his way to my side, his eyes as empty as mine. Maybe we were in shock. Do vampires go into shock? I should definitely feel something trapped between these two men, but I didn't. I waited for him to reach for me, to see what he'd do, what he'd say.

Christian's hold on me was gone – both physically and emotionally. He moved a few paces to my left and Edward took the blanket that Rose held out to him and wrapped me in it, burying his face in my hair. That small action dispersed the fog that was cushioning my mind from the events of the last few days and both of us were suddenly crying and whispering apologies.

**Should be one more post – an epilogue – and then my ff writing days are done. Whew! It's been fun, met some great peeps, and really loved hearing your thoughts.**

**Any comments on the New Moon trailer? I'm positively giddy with excitement. Looks better than Twilight. **


	30. Chapter 30 Only Time

******Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters. They are the wondrous creation of Steph Meyer!**

**A/N: Thanks for all the kind comments these last two chapters. I really needed to hear that. I know I said one more chapter, but I'm a wordy person, so there's still at least one more - maybe 2 - depending on what you decide. I discuss this further in my 2****nd**** A/N. The title is from _Enya_. I thought the song went well with this chapter.**

**Chapter 30 Only Time**

The water from the shower poured over me while I drew my knees up to my chin and tried to make sense of everything. We were staying at Ramada Inn for a few days and then were supposed to travel to Volterra which was fine with me. I wasn't ready to go back to New Hampshire and be one big happy family; I needed the coldness of Volterra that would afford me some quality alone time.

From the sounds in the bedroom, I could tell I was no longer alone. Edward was very carefully staying out of my way. Not because I asked him to, but because he blamed himself for everything.

I shut the water off and threw a thick terry-cloth robe on and ran the brush through my hair before flinging it back in a ponytail. The condensation on the mirror kept me from facing my ravaged chest. Kinly would be thrilled to know that his insignia was never far from my thoughts, and though I'd done my best to keep from physically looking at it, I knew every line of that design. It was burned so deeply into my mind that I would never have to actually see it to be able to recall every swirl accurately.

All movement from outside the door ceased. He'd noticed the water shutting off. I wondered if he'd even be out there when I finished up in here. He was doing exactly what I knew he would do and I needed him to be stronger than that. The only good aspect of Edward wallowing in self pity and guilt was that I had no time to do the same. I needed to be the strong one, to put on a happy face and pretend like my life hadn't been eternally changed.

I drew a long breath in and let it out slowly before I pushed the door open to find him staring blankly back at me. I don't even think he realized I'd come out of the bathroom, so lost in his thoughts he was. I took this opportunity to really look at him. We'd been doing a lot of brief glances, neither quite sure how to act around the other, or what to say.

If you didn't know what he'd just been through, you'd never guess anything out of the norm had transpired. He was still as perfect as ever. His disheveled mop of bronze hair falling across one caramel eye brought my attention to the only part of him that betrayed that illusion - his eyes. They were blank, lifeless. I wasn't sure that was a step up from the horror they held only a day ago.

I grimaced, my hands fidgeting nervously at my sides. "Edward, you need to talk to me. You can't just hide inside yourself and pretend nothing happened." I was one to talk. I was doing that very thing. I guess it was a "do as I say, not as I do" sort of thing.

He never blinked, or otherwise showed an indication of having heard me. Growing tired of my failed attempts to draw him out I flung myself across the bed and reached for the book Alice was thoughtful enough to drop off earlier. You wouldn't think that a book was high on my list, but when we arrived here, Edward had the television removed and when you're stuck in a hotel room with a catatonic husband and no TV, a book becomes a high priority item.

It was probably a good thing that I wasn't a TV person, because I didn't think that Edward was going to be able to watch one without remembering our time with Kinly.

I glanced at the cover of the paperback and shook my head. Just what I needed – a romance novel. The woman on the cover was barely dressed, her mane of hair wild, and a Venetian mask in one hand.

I shrugged and dove in to the first page of _The Harlequin_ by Laurell K Hamilton, hopeful that it would be interesting enough to distract me from my dark memories for a few brief minutes.

I was three quarters of the way through when Edward sidled up beside me leaving just a breath of space between our bodies. It would have been more natural to just press up against me, but instead he remained rigid and kept the artificial distance.

"Christian wants to see you before he leaves," Edward stated quietly. No accusation, no inflection whatsoever. I'd had a brief conversation with Christian earlier that morning. I was glad it was over with and I had no plans on seeing him off, apparently he did not feel the same way. Not that I was surprised. He'd been most persistent in his efforts to take care of me. His argument had been that Edward wasn't in a fit state to deal with me. He was right, but I certainly wasn't going to tell him that. He also made certain to point out that Edward's weak rescue attempt had made things worse, that I'd suffered far worse because of him than I would have if he'd just waited for everyone else. I completely disagreed on this point, but I didn't tell him that either. Mostly because I would have to explain how moments before Edward had walked in I was about a second away from performing oral sex on Kinly. No, no matter how stupid it was for Edward to come on his own, it still saved me from that one disgusting act. Though, I regret what Edward had to endure because of his reckless actions.

He tried again. "His flight is in two hours. If you're going to see him off, you better go."

I shook my head and closed the book, rolling over on my side and finally forcing myself to look at him. "I've already said everything to him that I wanted to say."

I let my finger graze his cheek gently. It was the most contact we'd had since he'd hugged me back at Kinly's lab. I wasn't sure if Edward was so disgusted by me that he didn't want to touch me, or if it was himself that he was disgusted with, but either way, his actions were hurting me more than he'd ever know. I would do my best to not let that show. Mustn't heap anything else on his shoulders, he looked ready to crack.

The silence between us stretched on while I stared at him and he avoided my gaze.

Finally, as the sun set and the room turned gray since we had no lights on, he admitted, "I don't know how to be around you now."

My stomach dropped at his quiet admission. My biggest fear was that he would leave me - either for my own good, or because he couldn't bear to be with me now that Kinly had laid his hands on me.

"Don't do this," I begged. "You're still the same Edward and I'm still the same Bella. What happened to us…it may haunt us, but it did not ruin us. Do not give that man that kind of power." I sat up, angry for the first time. But I'd be damned if I was going to let Kinly destroy our relationship the way he ruined my body. If we could survive Christian, then we'd overcome this, as well.

Instead of listening to my pleas, he went a completely different direction. "Did he…rape you?" He asked, his eyes downcast, a slight tremble to his tense body. I was surprised by this question. Kinly had recorded most of our time together, but I guess Edward hadn't had time to watch it all and see that things hadn't progressed quite that far. And I certainly hadn't talked about anything that had transpired; not with Edward, not with anyone, though Alice and Rose had tried. Reminded me of my time with Marcus when Alice and Rose had huddled around me upstairs in Edward's bedroom because they feared I'd been raped.

"No. You walked in just in time." Maybe that would alleviate some of his guilt for charging in without back up. It hadn't been the brightest idea, but it had saved me from something I deemed worse than all other forms of abuse.

"I see it…all of it all the time. Your face when I walked into the room. The fear, the disgust, the agony. Your screams still echo in my mind. I do not know how to get past this."

I saw it too, but I was trying my damnedest to not dwell on it. I reached out and took his hand that was lying on the bed between us and rubbed my thumb over it while I tried to find the words to make things better. "We escaped. Kinly…he's dead. He can't hurt us anymore. We're both whole and we've got each other. What more could we want?"

"To forget," he whispered.

**

* * *

**

**4 months later Volterra**

Alice slapped my fingers as I tried to wrestle the brush out of her strong grasp. "You're gravely mistaken if you think I'm going to let you do your hair on Demetri's wedding day," she chided me as she ran the brush through my hair. Rosalie snickered. She'd been in charge of my make up while Esme had taken care of my nails. I swear, you'd think I was the bride or something by the way they were fussing over me. But this was how they were now. Always hovering. I never had a moment to myself. If Edward wasn't glued to my side, then someone else was near at hand. To say it was irritating was putting it mildly, but what could I do? To tell them that they were smothering me would only hurt their feelings. They meant well, I knew that, and so I plastered a fake smile on my face and pretended all was right with the world.

I only had to make it through today and then Edward and I were taking off to a secluded island that Carlisle had bought for Esme. We were planning on an extended vacation there and once we were ready, we'd move back home - not New Hampshire, but Maine. Esme already found her new dream home and was somehow taking care of decorating it from here. The plan was for all of us to start high school again this fall. Maybe I'd like it more this time around. Nah, somehow I doubted it. There's always a Jessica or Lauren to deal with. Not to mention all the boys that would be enamored of our ethereal beauty.

"Come on," Alice whined in her high, irritating voice. "The ceremony's about to start. You need to get your lovely self down there. Now!" She could look quite fierce when she wanted to.

I shot one last glance in the mirror, something I still didn't like to do, but I hid the loathing from the women around me. The tuxedo I was wearing was nothing like the ones the guys were wearing. There was no stiff white shirt, just a blood red shirt with a black corseted vest that hugged all my curves layered over top and a pair of fitted black pants. The shirt hadn't been part of the ensemble, but Alice added it at the last minute when I'd noticed how vivid my scars on my chest were with just the corset. I guess I couldn't lie well enough to mask my revulsion.

Esme held out a pair of ruby encrusted heels which I slipped on quickly, grabbed the rings from the dresser, and dashed down to the main room where everyone was already assembled.

The room was packed with vampires that I knew and many I'd never met. I barely glanced at the six vampires seated in the second row on Demetri's side, but I was very aware of two of them – Alyria and Christian.

I could feel Alyria's power reaching for me. I'm not sure it was on purpose or not, but I shuddered in response and her rich laughter sang in my ears.

"Knock it off." I heard Christian and Kattra both hiss at her at the same time.

Demetri smiled in relief when I finally took my position by his side and the music began playing softly through the stone room. I tried to pay attention to the ceremony, but I could feel several pairs of eyes boring into my back. I knew that at least two of those pairs belonged to Edward and Christian.

It ended too soon, and I found myself doing something I hated – small talk. I couldn't stand being surrounded by so many people anymore, it made me nervous, but Edward knew that, and could recognize the signs of my anxiety. When it became too much to handle, he whisked me off to the side.

"We can leave anytime you like," he whispered.

I felt bad because I should at least stay as long as Demetri and Leah, but I was having a full blown panic attack. Every elbow I grazed, every person who stood too close to me - they all reminded me of Kinly, and though I knew he was dead, it didn't stop me looking over my shoulder and expecting to see his hulking form lumbering towards me with that demented leer on his face and Black Sabbath playing in the background.

"I need to go, now."

He nodded. "I'll get the bags. You'd better say goodbye to Aro. He would be very disappointed if you snuck out of here without giving him a chance to convince you to return to Volterra once you tired of the island," he chuckled, though the laughter never quite reached his eyes. I was beginning to wonder if it ever would for either of us.

I found Aro easily enough; he was the one that always had a gaggle of vamps surrounding him, but in my focused attempt to reach him, I failed to notice the vampire about to intercept me.

Christian stood between me and Aro, a small, sad smile on his exquisite face. I tried not to notice how nice he looked in his navy suit, how his hair fell in a sheet of gold down his shoulders, how my stomach fluttered at the nearness of him.

"You look utterly divine," he commented lightly as his eyes trailed up and down my body leisurely.

"You too," I muttered quickly trying to be nonchalant and not sure I pulled it off. I was too aware of the other vampires taking a sudden interest in me and Christian and wanted to extricate myself from him before someone made it out to be worse than it was. I'd found that no one liked to gossip more than centuries old vampires. God only knew what version Edward hear.

"You seem distracted," he began again, determined to make conversation. Some people just couldn't take a hint. You needed to hit them over the head with a sledgehammer in order for them to understand.

"I have a plane to catch and I need to talk to Aro before I leave."

He looked so full of disappointment, but his feelings were not my concern anymore. Well, they shouldn't have ever been my concern. He had a wife and a new vampire mingling somewhere around here. They were in charge of catering to his feelings.

"Look," I closed the distance between us and spoke quietly doing my best to keep this conversation as private as possible. "It's great seeing you, really it is, but we," I motioned between us, "can't keep doing this." I met his red eyes, with my caramel ones and said what I should have said to him long ago, "It's time for you to move on, forget about me. You have a wife and Anna. More than enough to keep you busy," I chuckled though I couldn't have felt less amused. "Please just let me go."

As I stepped back from him, I caught sight of Edward in the doorway with an unfathomable expression on his face.

Christian being Christian just shook his head slightly and said, "You are still recovering from …everything. I can tell you mean what you're saying right now, but in a few years, I'm not so certain." He closed the distance between us, his arms engulfing me, his lips hovering over my ear. "I am a patient man, love, very patient. And I will be here when you change your mind." He kissed me right below the ear then glided away without another look, leaving me shaken to the core. For the first time since Kinly had gotten his filthy hands on me, I wasn't thinking about the assault. My every thought was focused wholly on Christian.

I sighed and made my way to Aro for a quick goodbye. Amazingly, he didn't press me too hard about returning. I think he might agree that the best thing for me was to go back to my family life – at least for now. But he'd made it clear that the door was always open.

I'd almost reached Edward when Santiago and Mia stopped me. "Isabella," she said in her thick Romanian accent as her little hand clasped mine. "I believe I owe you a debt of gratitude. Santiago tells me that it was you who convinced Aro to give us our lands back."

"Not only that," Santiago quipped, "we are to be the Volturi of that region. Aro is setting up another court in the states, as well." This was the first I'd heard of it. At least the Cullens hadn't been asked to lead it. We were all looking forward to simpler days.

"I'm so happy for the both of you," I added as cheerfully as possible, hugged them both and practically ran out of there with my head down so I wouldn't be hindered by any more well wishers before I reached Edward.

"I don't think you could have been any more direct with Christian," he noted when I joined him, a ghost of a smile on those perfect lips. I stood on tip-toe and captured them in mine. We weren't physical anymore, this was the first time since I'd been abducted that we'd kissed and it surprised him. He pulled away quickly, looking shocked, before he grabbed my shoulders and forced me back to him, his mouth devouring mine.

We separated, both a little breathless, with real smiles on our face and in our eyes. "How I've missed that," he laughed, his arms wrapping around me as he led me out to our waiting car that would take us to the airport and our own private island for as long as I wanted.

* * *

**A/N: This was supposed to be the epilogue, but I had a few requests to show them dealing with the aftermath of their torture. So, one question – do you want a lemony delight with them on the island, or should I just do the epilogue? Let me know. **

**The book I mentioned (_The Harlequin_ by Laurell K Hamilton) is part of the Anita Blake vampire hunter series and is not really a romance novel, but has romance in it. Did that make sense? The romance isn't central to the books…well the earlier books LOL. This one is like book 15 or something (one of my faves). It is meant for an older reader - 16ish and above, I guess. An excellent read! **

**Thanks.**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	31. Chapter 31 This I Vow to You

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**A lemon for all those who asked so nicely :-)**

**Chapter 31 This I Vow to You**

**6 months after Demetri's wedding (November)**

The sand caved in around my body as the waves lapped at me and pulled the smooth, white granules back into the ocean. My eyes followed the fins of the dolphins as they made their nightly journey past our beach while Edward took care of all the preparations for tonight.

The last six months had slowly inched by. The first three had been damn near unbearable as we tip-toed around one another afraid to let our true emotions be known, but each passing day brought us closer together, healed us a little more, until finally our smiles weren't forced and our laughter rang true.

That's not to say that we still didn't think about Kinly and all he put us through; it was something neither of us would ever forget, but he no longer dominated our lives. Not even his brands which had faded to a thin spidery design repulsed me, though it had taken Edward a lot of effort to convince me that I was still pretty even with my newly acquired scars.

The water smoothed over me up to the edge of my bikini top this time. Debussy floated on the night air from the patio. Tonight would be our first time together since before the abduction.

I let that memory wash over me with all its vividness and transport me to a time when I was tied up on the dresser in New Orleans, a blindfold dangling in his eager hands.

We'd made several attempts at sex over the last couple of months, but our past kept interfering. In the beginning the marks on my flesh ruined the mood for both of us. The more they affected Edward, the more obsessed with them I became until it got to the point where I was wearing a ridiculous amount of clothes all the time and sex was the furthest thing from my mind.

Tonight, come hell or high water, I was making love to my husband, Kinly and my brands be damned.

His soft steps forced my head around until I was locked on his brilliant form. He wore very little. A pair of knee length shorts and an open white button-down with the sleeves rolled back. Personally, I think he just liked showing off that chiseled chest which the sides of the shirt framed perfectly. He still bore small circular scars from the stakes, but they were almost imperceptible. A human would never even notice. Not that any human had any reason to be gawking at my hubby's muscular chest. Nope, that was strictly for my eyes only.

"Would you like me to twirl around for you?" He asked, his crooked grin once again firmly in place and I made myself stop leering and closed my gaping mouth. How insane was it that my husband still affected like this?

"Sure," I drawled. "Be sure to lift up your shirt so I get a good view of that firm ass of yours," I chuckled as I sprang to my feet.

He flung his shirt at me and turned around slowly, my eyes following his progress as they had the dolphins' earlier.

His deep laughter made me realize that I'd once again slipped into that whole dazzled state. "Come on, love." He held out his hand and led me back toward the house where the music played gently and the multitude of lights he'd strung up twinkled.

"You know, I think Alice is rubbing off on you," I teased as I remembered the thousands of Christmas lights she'd used to decorate the back yard for our wedding. The sound of a steady heartbeat stilled my feet causing Edward to drag me a couple steps before realizing something was wrong.

"Why's there a human here?"

"It's a surprise. Now come on." He tugged on my hand and I followed. It had been a while since I'd been around humans. Edward had a specific day when they came to the island and I made certain I was no where around when they arrived. The smell of them, the taste of them, still beckoned me. I knew I was going to have to deal with it sooner or later, but I just hadn't felt up to testing myself. My eyes were finally the trademark golden hue of the Cullens, and I was terrified that I'd ruin it.

He leaned in, his lips perilously close to my ears and whispered, "Close your eyes and keep them closed until I say otherwise."

He guided me through the house and hastily removed my wet bathing suit. His hands were so fast that I knew that this wasn't at all about sex. A part of me was relieved because I thought I'd have a bit more time to quite my fears, but another part was a bit pouty and more than ready to reconnect with Edward in every way.

"No peeking," he murmured as he pulled a scratchy dress up my body and began fastening all the buttons. The whole process seemed awfully familiar.

"What on earth are you up to, Edward?"

His fingers piled my damp hair on top of my head and slipped a velvety strap around my throat. "Sit," he ordered, his voice lower than usual. At least my body still worked its magic on him; that was comforting and certainly made me feel more secure about making love to him with my flawed body.

With my eyes still firmly closed, I sat while he forced my feet into uncomfortable heels. "Now stay there. I'll be right back." Yeah, I was tempted to cheat, but he was going through so much trouble that I decided to play along.

Tonight was our last night here and then we'd make our way to Maine and our family. I really couldn't wait. I missed them all something terribly, Alice most of all. What I wasn't really looking forward to was starting high school in the middle of the school year. Since it was November, I had a little more than one month to prepare myself for that arduous task.

The music changed to his lullaby, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn't heard it in ages and emotions bubbled up inside me as he suddenly stood in front of me and took my hand leading me outside where the pulse of the human was humming enticingly in my ears, his scent swirling around me causing my venom to pool, but it was bearable. I felt no need to eat him. That was something. I knew it would taste so much better than the wildlife I'd been living on, but I was master here, not the bloodlust.

Edward's hand caressed my cheek and tilted my chin upward. "Look at me, love."

His eyes were full of love and amusement as I gasped at his black tie attire. One quick look down my body confirmed things. I had my lace wedding dress on that Alice had had crafted for me only two years before.

"Alice wanted to be here, of course, but I told her no."

"And what did you have to agree to in order to appease here?" I asked almost scared to hear his answer.

He chuckled. "Lets not worry about that tonight, alright?"

The minister cleared his throat and we both focused our attention on him. I'd never seen him before, not that that was surprising. He was in his mid fifties; his white hair covering his ears; his blue eyes still bright with life peeked out from underneath bushy white eyebrows. Put some serious weight on him and he'd be the perfect Santa Clause. He even had full beard that covered a strong jaw.

The book in his hands fell open to a marked page and he began the ceremony and just like last time, I was too caught up in my husband to notice the man's words. I'd lost my wedding ring when Kinly had removed my finger. I had no idea what that jerk off had done with it and God knows I never went back to look for it. Edward was now sliding a gold band with diamonds all the way around onto my shaking finger while reciting, "I, Edward, take you, Isabella, to be my beloved wife, to have and to hold you, to honor you, to treasure you, to be at your side in sorrow and in joy, in the good times, and in the bad, and to love and cherish you always. I promise you this from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of my life."

I gazed at him in awe. I knew that they were very traditional vows that billions of other people had exchanged time and again, but he meant them in a way that no one else ever had. With every fiber of his being he swore his love, allegiance, and fidelity to me.

"This," he caressed my ring finger, "hand has gone far too long without proof of my undying love for you," he said as he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it softly. By the way my body was reacting, you'd think it was the first time his lips had ever touched me. I was close to hyperventilating from the mere brush of his lips.

I had no ring to bestow as his had never left his finger, but I still recited my vows with a quavering voice hoping that he knew that I meant every one of them just as he did. It was harder to believe seeing as I'd betrayed our vows with Christian, but never again. I was his – Edward's – inside and out, heart and soul, for all eternity.

In a blur, I was surrounded by his arms, his lips caressing mine ever so softly, though I could feel the tremor in him that said plainly that his gentlemanly restraint wouldn't last much longer. The kiss ended too soon, leaving me bereft, but he soon remedied that when he scooped me up into his arms, thanked the minister, and carried me to the beach.

More candles than I could count now flickered in the wind surrounding the thick fur blanket that was sprawled across the sand. He set me on it gently, his body covering mine, while his eyes devoured me leaving me breathless.

The raw desire in his eyes was almost enough to make me forget my marred flesh, but as his hands skimmed over my chest, I flinched. It was stupid to allow Kinly this kind of hold over me, to leave me feeling self conscience in front of the man who would love me no matter what I looked like. Not to mention that he'd already stripped me from my wet bathing suit upstairs before helping me into my gown and that I'd been certain that I'd worked through these issues months ago. So much for progress.

He tried again and my body pulled away of its own accord. He knew these marks as well as I; there was no point in cringing from his touch.

"Do not," he murmured, his lips hovering over mine, his hot breath warming my face as he blew out his intoxicating scent that I greedily drank down in a great lungful. It calmed me, gave me the strength to chase the ghost of Kinly away.

"You are beautiful. These," he cupped my breasts, "are a part of you and I love everything about you." He pulled at the lace of my dress that still shielded me from his view.

"You better not rip this dress or Alice will…kick your ass." I almost said "skin you alive," but it was too reminiscent of Kinly that I edited my words some.

That lopsided grin that had melted my heart every time he bestowed it upon me when I was human was now fixed on his lips having an oddly similar effect. "Roll over." He worked quickly to peel me out of the gown.

"Save me the trouble," I murmured, my eyes glued to his body. He hastily removed his own clothes, the sound of his shirt tearing proving just how anxious he was to get started.

I reveled in the feel of his hard body heating mine as our hands touched every inch of each other in an attempt to reacquaint ourselves. My tongue licked over his jaw tasting his all too familiar skin, my teeth nibbling their way to his ear while one of his hands encircled my waist and the other teased my erect nipple.

His hand on me jerked me back to reality. I wanted to believe his whispered words; my body was all but screaming at me to get over my issues and let him have his way with me. I tried, dammit, I did, but when he dipped his head to my chest I pushed him away. A rumbling growl trickled from him.

"What do I have to do to convince you?"

I sighed, certain that I was never going to be able to make love to my husband again. "There's nothing-"

"Dammit, Bella. You are not doing this. I swear," he bit out, clamping his mouth shut in an effort to silence his tirade and shook his head. "Look at me. I can barely keep from devouring you and you think those marks are worth a second thought." His hips ground against mine letting me feel the fullness of him. "Can you not feel how much I want you? I'm so fucking hard right now, I'll be lucky if I last a minute with you."

I slid out from under him trying to think. What the hell was wrong with me?

He stood looking like a fierce angel and held his hands out to me which he seemed to be making tremble melodramatically. "You see this? I actually itch to shake some fucking sense into you." He grabbed me by the nape of my neck and forced our lips together. It was hard, possessive, bordering on brutal, and exactly what I needed. He wanted me with such wild abandon that all his uptight gentlemanly ways had been stripped away.

"You are mine, Bella, and I will never let you go," he mumbled against my mouth. "Mine. You will not walk away from me tonight."

I burst out laughing; I couldn't help it. He suddenly reminded me of Felix and how he tried to be all caveman with Yasmin. It hadn't worked too well for him, but I liked it just fine.

The tension drifted away and his face softened now that he was sure I wasn't going to flee.

"So," I said, a wicked smile playing on my lips. "I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't paying much attention to the minister, but somewhere in those vows didn't it state that you had to see to my happiness?"

He smiled, his eyes shining bright in the moonlight. "Something to that effect," he admitted. "What'd you have in mind?"

That look was nearly my undoing. He was seducing me with his onyx eyes that were smoldering over my body like his hands only moments before, with his velvety voice that was pitched an octave lower than usual and had a weight to it that my body couldn't ignore.

I must have taken a step back, though I had no intention of running, he just looked so un-Edward like that it caught me off guard.

"Come here," he ordered, one finger crooked, summoning me. Who was I to resist?

Lust thrummed in the humid air, the sound of the waves crashing reminding me of the wild rhythm my heart would be beating if it still functioned. His mouth settled over mine with such gentleness that it threw me off. It was such a contrast to his dominating words and the hard glint in his eyes, but the moment my tongue slid against his he became more forceful, feeding from my lips savagely.

The kiss ended and I swear I was sporting a cat ate the canary grin a mile wide. All the time we spent trying to get our shit together and all I needed was some _physical therapy_ with Edward to liberate me from my emotional bonds.

His finger traced my lips that were slightly swollen from his rough kiss and I nipped at his finger before drawing it into my mouth and swirling my tongue around it suggestively bringing a deep groan from him. God, how I loved the taste of this man.

"Do you know how much I want you?" he asked in a strained voice as his hand fell away from my lips to smooth over my bare hips. He pushed me back onto the blanket and caught both of my hands in his like a shackle when I reached for his cock.

"No, right now…I'm going worship you. Show you with every touch of my hands…" his free hand grazed over my heated flesh, not touching anything important, but still turning me into mush. "…every lick of my tongue…" he lapped at my nipple, small moans escaping my lips. "…how much I love you. How heartrendingly beautiful you are."

His dark gaze held me captive with the promise of things to come causing my stomach to do flip flops. Electricity thrummed over me leaving my nerves alive and on fire with his touch. This was just what I needed. Everything he did was evidence of his love for me. Listening to him, I finally believed that he belonged to me as surely as I belonged to him.

His teeth scraped over the swell of my chest, the brands long forgotten. My whole body tightened with need so great I was nearly sobbing for relief. I arched against him trying to make him take all of me into his hot mouth and when it clamped closed over my breast, my hips bucked wildly against the hard length of him. I writhed, I screamed, I begged for release, but still he refused, instead working us both to a fever pitch. His cock twitched against me and I could feel the liquid heat pooling between my legs in response making him aware of how wet and ready I was for him.

His mouth sucked harder while his hand fondled my other breast, his moans vibrating against my flesh in an almost overwhelming sensation.

Panting, I managed to croak, "More. I need more." My hands were still locked in his merciless grip, but my hips were affecting him, and by the feel of his dick that had managed to grow even harder, so were my words. "All of you. Everywhere. Inside me." I rambled nonsensically.

He bit down, not enough to penetrate my skin, but enough to make me scream out his name and tear my hands from his grip to wind them into his thick, tangle of hair. "God, Edward," I sighed as my muscles contracted with every touch of his tongue, tug of his teeth. I was left slick and welcoming and dammit, he was going to do something with that if it was the last thing I did.

He finally relented, his fingers sliding into my wet heat, my muscles clamping down on him tightly as the ache deep inside me begged to burst forth in a roaring orgasm from one small thrust of his hand. I forced my eyes to remain open as I fought not to come from so little attention. Who the hell got off with one stroke of one finger? Pathetic, but damn, I was close.

"Come for me, love. Don't hold back." His words unhinged me and pleasure erupted within me leaving my hands clutching desperately at his back, my head thrown back as I screamed my orgasm to the stars illuminating the night sky.

"I think I'm addicted to your body's reaction to me." I was barely listening to him; I was too focused on relearning how to breathe and quieting my quivering body.

I knew what I wanted, but getting my jello-like body to follow took more effort than I cared to admit. I managed to roll on top of him and welded our lips together, my chest pressed tightly against his, his thick erection trapped between us. I slid my body up his and lowered my hot sex onto his mouth as his hands wound around my upper thighs to support me.

God, the feel of this man's tongue caressing my most intimate parts was indescribable. I rode his face, my hips rocking out of control when he slipped a finger inside me. His rhythm was frantic, almost too fast, and I could feel another orgasm bubbling up inside me; I wasn't ready for the sensation of his mouth working me to be over.

The swirl of his tongue ceased and was replaced by him sucking gently on my nub which had me moaning his name, my back arched, my chest heaving towards the heavens like some offering.

To prolong the moment and keep from coming apart again, I swiveled around, his mouth still feeding from me, and I bent my head to his swollen cock. He moaned against my flesh as I swallowed him loving the feel of all that granite muscle filling my mouth, reveling in the taste of him.

His hips began a slow rhythm meeting my mouth, urging me to take him deeper, until he was hitting the back of my throat. Always before, he'd been so restrained, torn between loving this act and believing it was demoralizing to women, but tonight he let it all go and gave me what I wanted – what we both wanted.

My body was seconds from bursting into flames as he slid a third finger inside me, curving them to hit that one spot that guaranteed a fast, explosive climax and with three firm flicks of those wondrous tendrils, a lick of his tongue, I was fragmenting into a million pieces even as I shoved his cock as hard and fast down my convulsing throat, milking him, enticing him to release in my mouth.

His whole body became like steel as he spurted down my throat in one quick rush. I came up off of him a breathless, rubbery mess, my limbs ignoring my mental directives. With his help I was able to realign my body with his and collapse into a shuddering heap by his side.

"That was…God, I fucking love you," he breathed heavily pulling me close and bestowing what should have been a chaste kiss on my lips, but with my juices and scent all over his mouth, it was something far more erotic and just like that I was ready for more.

"Make love to me, Edward."

"Oh, I'm going to. I'm going to possess you again and again because I can't get enough. Your scent, your taste, is an aphrodisiac…"

I swallowed his words with a kiss. Hot. Wet. Hungry, his teeth tugging on my lower lip.

"Your body sings a haunting melody that calls to everything male in me."

My swift intake of breath was all the reaction he needed. I felt him growing hard again while his hands caressed every part of me they could reach. He had my body wound so tight that I was all but begging him to take me. "Please, Edward. I need to feel you inside me." I needed him to fill that empty void that had left me dead inside.

His desires roared through him and with one deep thrust he claimed me and soothed the ache that had been slowly building.

For the first time, Edward dropped his façade and made love to me the way he'd longed to; his antiquated morals from his youth long forgotten. This was what I'd been yearning for. What Christian had had, that Edward hadn't. There was no sexual act that was wrong or disgusting in that moment; it was all beautiful, a way to physically declare our undying love. We used every position imaginable to profess our love; our hands explored every inch, every crevice of one another, and it still wasn't enough, would never be enough to express our feelings. It was hands down, the most Earth shattering moment of my life.

**Let me know what you think. Loving hearing from everyone. Only the epilogue left and I should have it up in a day or so. It won't be very long or anything,; just trying to wrap everything up. Thanks for sticking by me and for all the comments and adds.**

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


	32. Chapter 32 Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!**

**Epilogue Full Circle**

**(January)**

I hung up the phone with a sigh and met Edward's weary gaze.

"Well?" I'd have to give him credit for managing to keep his voice devoid of all emotion while inquiring about the phone call that had interfered with our before school make out session.

"They've invited us to a little soirée. Kinda a 'get to know your local Volturi' sort of deal," I replied glumly.

"_They've_," he scoffed, no longer hiding his displeasure. "Don't you mean _Christian_?" he all but snarled.

True, it had been Christian that called, but the actual invite was from Alyria as head of her coven and now head of the US Volturi. Yeah, shocking, wasn't it? This from the woman who had no desire to fight because all she wanted to do was sing and now she was leader of vampire kind on this side of the pond. It would take some getting used to, that's for sure.

Carlisle mentioned that Aro had offered our coven the coveted role, but he politely refused. Small favors.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. Truthfully, I'd forgotten that I was in the middle of a conversation with him and that he was expecting me to defend Christian in some way. Now he probably thought I was pissed at him for being jealous.

"Don't apologize," I said moving from the chair to the bed where he was perched and draped myself across his lap, his hands automatically enveloping me. "The invite is from Alyria. Or would that be _Lady Alyria_?" I snickered. My title still trumped her's. I was still known as Queen among all the vamps, but seeing as I didn't want any of the responsibility that went with it, it would probably be best if I didn't bring that up. Though, who knows how I might feel a hundred years down the road? It was sort of nice knowing that I had that ace up my sleeve. I knew all I had to do was say the word and Aro would eagerly welcome me into his court. I might not have all the powers I used to have, but I still had some impressive ones.

"Are we going?"

"I don't see how we can get out of it."

He nodded, lost in thought, then flung me onto the bed with the directive to "get dressed" and left the room. Most likely to discuss this new development with Carlisle.

* * *

"What is _that_?" Alice shrieked as she took in my plain attire. I should've known better than to think that I'd be able to sneak out of the house in such casual wear.

"Clothes," I stated simply already turning around and marching back up the stairs where Edward was waiting, a low chuckled filtering down to me.

"I set out a perfectly assembled ensemble for you, now put it on. How much effort does it take? God…" she mumbled while looking through the multitude of key rings hanging by the door.

"You want me to sneak your clothes in my back pack so you can change once we get to school?" Justin asked, his eyes dancing with laughter.

He was now a permanent Cullen. Well, we weren't actually going by Cullen now – today we officially became the Blacks in honor of Jacob.

"Don't tempt me," I grumbled and slammed the door shut.

Edward wound his arms around me and captured my lips cutting off my tirade about pint sized, fashion obsessed pixies. "I don't know why you bother. You know she always gets her way. And beside," he added, his hand skimming over my ass and pulling firmly against his hard body. "You look utterly sinful when you let her dress you."

"Yeah, cause that's what I want – to draw even more attention to me," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Once I passed Alice's fashion inspection, Carlisle pulled me aside. "Felix has just contacted me," he whispered, though I didn't know why he bothered.

Felix had sort of fallen off the radar along with Yasmin and all the enhanced soldiers. Aro was apparently beside himself with anger and had hosts of vampires searching for him. Oddly enough, he had not sought out Demetri's aid even though he knew that Demetri could find him easily enough. It seemed to me that Aro was merely putting on a show and though his anger towards Felix was real, I think he understood why Felix did what he did.

"And?"

"He wants you to plead his case to Aro. Not just for him and Yasmin, but for the soldiers. Somehow the news of the remaining soldiers got out and Aro wants them destroyed."

Great, just fucking great. Damn Aro and his ability to know every single thought from a single touch. No one would have willingly betrayed the soldiers, but not all of us were as lucky as Christian and Kattra who were immune to his special talent.

How many high school students had to deal with this kind of fucked up political shit on their first day of school? "Sure, why not? I'll make sure to pencil it into my planner somewhere between geometry and shopping for the perfect gift for our new vampire leaders."  
I heaved my backpack onto my shoulder and took Edward's outstretched hand and let him guide me to the silver Volvo which was barely visible through the flurry of snow. What a shock it had been to leave the delights of the island for this wet mess, but being back among my family made it all worth it.

**A/N: OMG! I can't believe it's finally finished. What was supposed to be maybe 10 chapters turned into this monstrosity and I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever wrap it up. I just wanted to thank all of you who have taken time out of your days to read this trilogy. I had a lot of fun writing it and learned a lot about the writing process from this pastime. I'd really love it if you'd take a minute to tell me what you thought was my biggest weakness as a writer. My professor wants me to try and get the novel I've been working on for the past 2 years published, and I'd like to know what I need to focus on while revising it. **

**Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews. It's been a pleasure getting to know you guys. Oh, and if I left any loose ends, PM me. **

**Cheers!**

**Sabrina**


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